Reproductive Ecology of the Hainan Four Eye-Spotted Turtle (Sacalia insulensis) on Hainan Island, China

Jichao WANG; Yuxiang LIU; Jonathan FONG; James F. PARHAM; Haitao SHI

doi:10.2744/CCB-1383.1

Reproductive Ecology of the Hainan Four Eye-Spotted Turtle (Sacalia insulensis) on Hainan Island, China

Jichao WANG
, Yuxiang LIU
, Jonathan FONG
, James F. PARHAM
, Haitao SHI^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Division of Science

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

From 2000 to 2002, the reproductive ecology of the endangered Hainan four eye-spotted turtle (Sacalia insulensis) was studied on Hainan Island, China. A total of 147 adult females were captured, and their reproductive status was evaluated by palpation, X-ray imaging, and ultrasound. Twenty-two gravid females were under observation when they laid their eggs. We observed gravid females and nesting behavior along stream banks between December and April. Nest dimensions ranged from 5 to 6 cm in diameter and from 2 to 3 cm in depth. No females in our study produced more than 1 clutch per season. Clutch size average was 1.9 eggs (range = 1–3 eggs, SD = 0.56, n = 22) with an average egg mass of 16.05 g (range = 11.8–21.0 g, SD = 2.417, n = 21), an average egg width of 2.36 cm (range = 2.1–2.7 cm, SD = 0.135, n = 21), and an average length of 4.65 cm (range = 3.9–5.3 cm, SD = 0.400, n = 21). Hatching success rate was 53%, and hatchlings emerged after an average of 120.9 d (range = 98–148 d, SD = 14.94, n = 21) in late June to early July. The mean nesting site ground temperature was 24.43°C (range = 15.0°C–30.2°C, SD = 2.712, n = 7).

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	103–108
Number of pages	6
Journal	Chelonian Conservation and Biology
Volume	20
Issue number	1
Early online date	24 May 2021
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1383.1
Publication status	Published - Jun 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Chelonian Research Foundation. All rights reserved.

Funding

The present study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31772486 to H.S. and No. 31860608 to J.W.). The methods of this study were approved by the Animal Research Ethics Committee of Hainan Provincial Education Centre for Ecology and Environment, Hainan Normal University (HNECEE-2007-002), and were carried out in strict accordance with the institutional guidelines. We thank Hainan Medical University for assistance in X-ray imaging and ultrasound scanning. We thank Y.L. Fu, B.L. Fu, and many undergraduate students for their assistance during the fieldwork. We are grateful to J.R. Buskirk and K.H. Kikillus for providing constructive comments on a previous version of the manuscript. We thank 2 anonymous reviewers for providing constructive comments on this manuscript.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 15 Life on Land

Keywords

Sacalia insulensis
radio tracking
reproduction
nesting behavior
egg
Hainan
Sacalia quadriocellata

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https://meridian.allenpress.com/ccb/article-abstract/doi/10.2744/CCB-1383.1/465472/Reproductive-Ecology-of-the-Hainan-Four-Eye

Cite this

@article{5d2c6fcf6f1b4cd6a42c99fdb62f8265,

title = "Reproductive Ecology of the Hainan Four Eye-Spotted Turtle (Sacalia insulensis) on Hainan Island, China",

abstract = "From 2000 to 2002, the reproductive ecology of the endangered Hainan four eye-spotted turtle (Sacalia insulensis) was studied on Hainan Island, China. A total of 147 adult females were captured, and their reproductive status was evaluated by palpation, X-ray imaging, and ultrasound. Twenty-two gravid females were under observation when they laid their eggs. We observed gravid females and nesting behavior along stream banks between December and April. Nest dimensions ranged from 5 to 6 cm in diameter and from 2 to 3 cm in depth. No females in our study produced more than 1 clutch per season. Clutch size average was 1.9 eggs (range = 1–3 eggs, SD = 0.56, n = 22) with an average egg mass of 16.05 g (range = 11.8–21.0 g, SD = 2.417, n = 21), an average egg width of 2.36 cm (range = 2.1–2.7 cm, SD = 0.135, n = 21), and an average length of 4.65 cm (range = 3.9–5.3 cm, SD = 0.400, n = 21). Hatching success rate was 53\%, and hatchlings emerged after an average of 120.9 d (range = 98–148 d, SD = 14.94, n = 21) in late June to early July. The mean nesting site ground temperature was 24.43°C (range = 15.0°C–30.2°C, SD = 2.712, n = 7).",

keywords = "Sacalia insulensis, radio tracking, reproduction, nesting behavior, egg, Hainan, Sacalia quadriocellata",

author = "Jichao WANG and Yuxiang LIU and Jonathan FONG and PARHAM, \{James F.\} and Haitao SHI",

year = "2021",

month = jun,

doi = "10.2744/CCB-1383.1",

language = "English",

volume = "20",

pages = "103–108",

journal = "Chelonian Conservation and Biology",

issn = "1071-8443",

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T1 - Reproductive Ecology of the Hainan Four Eye-Spotted Turtle (Sacalia insulensis) on Hainan Island, China

AU - WANG, Jichao

AU - LIU, Yuxiang

AU - FONG, Jonathan

AU - PARHAM, James F.

AU - SHI, Haitao

PY - 2021/6

Y1 - 2021/6

N2 - From 2000 to 2002, the reproductive ecology of the endangered Hainan four eye-spotted turtle (Sacalia insulensis) was studied on Hainan Island, China. A total of 147 adult females were captured, and their reproductive status was evaluated by palpation, X-ray imaging, and ultrasound. Twenty-two gravid females were under observation when they laid their eggs. We observed gravid females and nesting behavior along stream banks between December and April. Nest dimensions ranged from 5 to 6 cm in diameter and from 2 to 3 cm in depth. No females in our study produced more than 1 clutch per season. Clutch size average was 1.9 eggs (range = 1–3 eggs, SD = 0.56, n = 22) with an average egg mass of 16.05 g (range = 11.8–21.0 g, SD = 2.417, n = 21), an average egg width of 2.36 cm (range = 2.1–2.7 cm, SD = 0.135, n = 21), and an average length of 4.65 cm (range = 3.9–5.3 cm, SD = 0.400, n = 21). Hatching success rate was 53%, and hatchlings emerged after an average of 120.9 d (range = 98–148 d, SD = 14.94, n = 21) in late June to early July. The mean nesting site ground temperature was 24.43°C (range = 15.0°C–30.2°C, SD = 2.712, n = 7).

AB - From 2000 to 2002, the reproductive ecology of the endangered Hainan four eye-spotted turtle (Sacalia insulensis) was studied on Hainan Island, China. A total of 147 adult females were captured, and their reproductive status was evaluated by palpation, X-ray imaging, and ultrasound. Twenty-two gravid females were under observation when they laid their eggs. We observed gravid females and nesting behavior along stream banks between December and April. Nest dimensions ranged from 5 to 6 cm in diameter and from 2 to 3 cm in depth. No females in our study produced more than 1 clutch per season. Clutch size average was 1.9 eggs (range = 1–3 eggs, SD = 0.56, n = 22) with an average egg mass of 16.05 g (range = 11.8–21.0 g, SD = 2.417, n = 21), an average egg width of 2.36 cm (range = 2.1–2.7 cm, SD = 0.135, n = 21), and an average length of 4.65 cm (range = 3.9–5.3 cm, SD = 0.400, n = 21). Hatching success rate was 53%, and hatchlings emerged after an average of 120.9 d (range = 98–148 d, SD = 14.94, n = 21) in late June to early July. The mean nesting site ground temperature was 24.43°C (range = 15.0°C–30.2°C, SD = 2.712, n = 7).

KW - Sacalia insulensis

KW - radio tracking

KW - reproduction

KW - nesting behavior

KW - egg

KW - Hainan

KW - Sacalia quadriocellata

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85108510016

U2 - 10.2744/CCB-1383.1

DO - 10.2744/CCB-1383.1

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

AN - SCOPUS:85108510016

SN - 1071-8443

VL - 20

SP - 103

EP - 108

JO - Chelonian Conservation and Biology

JF - Chelonian Conservation and Biology

IS - 1

ER -

Reproductive Ecology of the Hainan Four Eye-Spotted Turtle (Sacalia insulensis) on Hainan Island, China

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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