Stable isotopes of C and N reveal habitat dependent dietary overlap between native and introduced turtles Pseudemys rubriventris and Trachemys scripta.

ABSTRACT: Habitat degradation and species introductions are two of the leading causes of species declines on a global scale. Invasive species negatively impact native species through predation and competition for limited resources. The impacts of invasive species may be increased in habitats where habitat degradation is higher due to reductions of prey abundance and distribution. Using stable isotope analyses and extensive measurements of resource availability we determined how resource availability impacts the long term carbon and nitrogen assimilation of the invasive red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) and a native, threatened species, the red-bellied turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris) at two different freshwater wetland complexes in Pennsylvania, USA. At a larger wetland complex with

SUBMITTER: Pearson SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3652855 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature