Hibernation in Reeves' Turtles (Mauremys reevesii) in Qichun County, Hubei Province, China: Hibernation Beginning and End and Habitat Selection.

ABSTRACT: Hibernation protects turtles from extreme winter conditions. Reeves' turtle (Mauremys reevesii) is a medium-sized aquatic turtle that lives in freshwater habitats in lowland areas with still or slowly moving water. Currently, little is known regarding its overwintering behavior. In the current study, 20 Reeves' turtles from the wild were investigated using radiotelemetry in the field to determine the beginning and end dates of, and habitat selected for, hibernation. Hibernation began in late October 2021 and arousal began in March 2022. Reeves' turtles do not appear to be limited in their selection of suitable hibernation habitats, which included fish ponds, abandoned ponds (ponds not being used for farming), marshes, and abandoned fields (fields not being used for farming). In the

SUBMITTER: Bu R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9495146 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature