Title
A Dietary Study of the Rough-Footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon Hirtipes) in Texas, USA
Author(s)
Platt, Steven G.;Berezin, Andrew R.;Miller, Dennis J.;Rainwater, Thomas R.
Published
2016
Publisher
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
Abstract
We conducted a dietary study of the Rough-footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes) at Plata Wetland
Complex (PWC) in Presidio County, Texas, USA, from 2007–2008. We collected feces from 88 turtles, including 42
males, 14 females, and 32 juveniles. Items recovered from fecal samples included filamentous algae, vegetation, seeds and
fruits, aquatic, terrestrial, and flying arthropods, and aquatic gastropods. Based on percent occurrence (number of
samples in which a particular dietary item occurs divided by the sample size), vegetation and insects were the principal
foods consumed. Lesser amounts of filamentous algae, seeds and fruits, and aquatic gastropods were recovered from
feces. Kinosternon hirtipes at PWC appear to be generalist omnivores. The remains of terrestrial arthropods in feces
suggest some foraging activity occurs terrestrially or at the land-water interface. Kinosternon hirtipes undergoes an
ontogenetic dietary shift from insects to vegetation as body size increases, which presumably facilitates rapid growth and
minimizes the time an individual remains at a size vulnerable to predators. Although males are the larger sex at PWC,
we found nothing to suggest that larger body size provided access to an expanded resource base. Instead we found high
dietary overlap between sexes indicating that male and female K. hirtipes consume similar foods.
Keywords
diet;fecal analysis;food habits;Kinosternidae;ontogenetic dietary change
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