Download or read book Effects of Nest Microclimate on the Increase of Egg Mass and the Overall Hatchling Size of Chrysemys Picta written by Rosemary Becker and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The overall size of a hatchling painted turtle has an effect on its overall chance of survival. It has been shown that larger hatchlings are more likely to survive. The size of a hatchling seems to be the result of a number of variables. Some of these variables are attributes of the mother, the others are due to the physical and chemical environment during incubation. Previous studies have shown that cool, moist incubation conditions will produce larger hatchling turtles than warm, dry incubation conditions. I investiaged the importance of nest temperature on the increase of egg mass and the overall hatchling size in the moist, loamy soil of Illinois. It was shown that larger hatchlings result from larger eggs. Also the incubation temperature of the nests had a strong effect on development time, causing embryos in cooler nests to take longer to develop. Incubation temperature also effected the change in egg mass during incubation. Eggs developing in warmer nests gained more water mass."--Author's abstract.