TY - JOUR
T1 - Thermal and substrate color-induced melanization in laboratory reared red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans)
AU - Rowe, John W.
AU - Clark, David L.
AU - Mortensen, Rebecca A.
AU - Commissaris, Carolyn V.
AU - Wittle, Lawrence W.
AU - Tucker, John K.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding was provided by the Faculty Small Grant Funds (2010.1 and 2011.1) and by the Biology Department at Alma College . All turtles were collected under an Illinois Department of Natural Resources collecting permit, an extension of A93.0202. Treatment of animals was conducted in accordance with the Alma College IACUC standards and under the National Institute of Health Assurance #4162.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Elsevier Ltd
Copyright:
Copyright 2017 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Color and pigmentation patterns of the integument can facilitate crypsis, thermoregulation, and social signaling. According to the “thermal melanism hypothesis”, cold environmental temperature should increase the quantity of melanin that is deposited in the integument thereby facilitating radiative warming. We studied the influences of water temperature (26 °C or 31 °C) and substrate color (black or white) on the degree of melanization in the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans , under laboratory conditions. Turtles reared on a black substrate, or in 26 °C water, for 120 days were darker than those reared on a white substrate or in 31 °C water. A potential tradeoff between the fitness benefits of crypsis and the benefits of radiative warming through melanism was detected because turtles reared in 26 °C water and on a white substrate were darker than those reared on a white substrate and in 31 °C water. Low temperatures limited metabolic processes because turtles reared in 26 °C water grew more slowly than those reared in 31 °C water. However, histological analyses revealed that melanization was a dynamic process in all treatments confirming that the degree of melanization in the cool water treatment was not influenced by the initial and relatively dark hatchling coloration in individuals that grew relatively slowly.
AB - Color and pigmentation patterns of the integument can facilitate crypsis, thermoregulation, and social signaling. According to the “thermal melanism hypothesis”, cold environmental temperature should increase the quantity of melanin that is deposited in the integument thereby facilitating radiative warming. We studied the influences of water temperature (26 °C or 31 °C) and substrate color (black or white) on the degree of melanization in the red-eared slider, Trachemys scripta elegans , under laboratory conditions. Turtles reared on a black substrate, or in 26 °C water, for 120 days were darker than those reared on a white substrate or in 31 °C water. A potential tradeoff between the fitness benefits of crypsis and the benefits of radiative warming through melanism was detected because turtles reared in 26 °C water and on a white substrate were darker than those reared on a white substrate and in 31 °C water. Low temperatures limited metabolic processes because turtles reared in 26 °C water grew more slowly than those reared in 31 °C water. However, histological analyses revealed that melanization was a dynamic process in all treatments confirming that the degree of melanization in the cool water treatment was not influenced by the initial and relatively dark hatchling coloration in individuals that grew relatively slowly.
KW - INHS
KW - Turtle
KW - Thermal melanism
KW - Substrate color induced melanization
KW - Red-eared slider
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.09.005
DO - 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2016.09.005
M3 - Article
VL - 61
SP - 125
EP - 132
JO - Journal of Thermal Biology
JF - Journal of Thermal Biology
ER -