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Impact of hypercapnic incubation on hatchling common snapping turtle ( Chelydra serpentina ) growth and metabolism (1101.3)
Author(s) -
Wearing Oliver,
Eme John,
Kemp Adam,
Crossley Dane
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.1101.3
Subject(s) - hatchling , chelydra , hypercapnia , postprandial , biology , turtle (robot) , incubation , hatching , hypoxia (environmental) , endocrinology , medicine , zoology , respiratory system , anatomy , ecology , chemistry , biochemistry , oxygen , diabetes mellitus , organic chemistry
Some reptilian embryos are naturally exposed to low levels of O 2 and high levels of CO 2 . This phenomenon has provoked much research on the physiological effects of developmental hypoxia in reptiles and associated implications on survival. However, notably less attention has been given to the effects of hypercapnia. In this study, we investigated the growth trajectories and metabolic rates (resting and postprandial) of common snapping turtle ( Chelydra serpentina ) hatchlings that were chronically incubated as embryos in one of three environmental conditions: Atmospheric CO 2 (control); 3.5% CO 2 (3.5%); and 7% CO 2 (7%). Control and 7% hatchlings had similar growth trajectories and mean masses. However, the 3.5% animals had both a higher mean mass and a steeper trajectory compared to the other conditions. VO 2 experiments revealed that resting metabolic rate was significantly elevated in the hypercapnic conditions compared to the control condition. Moreover, the postprandial metabolic rate was 1.6‐ to 1.7‐fold higher than resting in the hypercapnic, compared to a 2‐fold increase in the normal incubated turtles. This study not only demonstrates that snapping turtles can survive considerable hypercapnia during embryonic development, but also that incubation condition has lasting effects on physiology post‐hatching. Grant Funding Source : Supported by NSF CAREER IBN IOS‐0845741 to DAC