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Morphological and mechanical changes in juvenile red-eared slider turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) shells during
Jennifer F Fish1, Charles T Stayton
1Department of Biology, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, 17837.
Journal of Morphology
|December 5, 2013
Summary
As turtles grow, their shells become larger, flatter, and more rigid. While larger shells are absolutely stronger, their relative strength decreases, impacting survivorship.
Area of Science:
- * Integrative biology and biomechanics.
- * Comparative morphology and ontogenetics.
Background:
- * Turtle shells undergo significant ontogenetic changes in morphology, physiology, and mechanics.
- * Quantitative data on shape, strength, and rigidity changes during growth are limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- * To investigate morphological and mechanical changes in juvenile Trachemys scripta elegans shells during growth.
- * To quantify changes in shell shape, rigidity, and mechanical behavior with increasing size.
Main Methods:
- * Morphometric analysis of 36 juvenile Trachemys scripta elegans.
- * Creation of finite element models from morphometric data.
- * Assessment of shell mechanical behavior under various loading conditions.
Main Results:
- * Growing turtles exhibit complementary changes in size, shape, deformability, and relative strength.
- * Shells become larger, more elongate, flatter, and more rigid with age.
- * Relative shell strength decreases with age, despite absolute strength increases.
Conclusions:
- * Decreased deformability is mainly size-dependent, not shape-dependent.
- * Changes in skeletal element connectivity, bone thickness, and mineralization influence deformability.
- * Ontogenetic changes in shell mechanics significantly impact turtle survivorship and development.
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