Growth and recruitment in western pond turtles

The western pond turtle (Emys marmorata) is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN Red list. It is the only freshwater turtle native to California, making the species phylogenetically distinct in the region and worth conservation. Larger turtles are better able to compete for resources and avoid predation than smaller ones. Understanding the factors contributing to the species’ growth is important to their conservation. To do this I measured the mass, carapace length and carapace width of 46 hatchling turtles every two weeks for roughly 147 days. I found that maternal identity is the main determining factor of a turtle’s growth rate.