Scientists study 'talking' turtles in Brazilian Amazon

[Judi Lynn]

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE:
14-Aug-2014

Contact: John Delaney
[e-mail]
718-220-3275
Wildlife Conservation Society

Scientists study 'talking' turtles in Brazilian Amazon

Authors find that Giant South American river turtles have a repertoire of vocalizations for different behavioral situations, including caring for young

Turtles are well known for their longevity and protective shells, but it turns out these reptiles use sound to stick together and care for young, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society and other organizations.

Scientists working in the Brazilian Amazon have found that Giant South American river turtles actually use several different kinds of vocal communication to coordinate their social behaviors, including one used by female turtles to call to their newly hatched offspring in what is the first instance of recorded parental care in turtles.

The study appears in a recent edition of the journal Herpetologica. The authors are: Camila Ferrara of the Wildlife Conservation Society; Richard C. Vogt of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas de Amazônia, and the Associação de Ictiólogos e Herpetólogos da Amazônia; Renata S Sousa-Lima of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Bruno M.R. Tardio of the Instituto Chico Mendez; and Virginia Campos Diniz Bernardes of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas de Amazônia, and the Associação de Ictiólogos e Herpetólogos da Amazônia.

"These distinctive sounds made by turtles give us unique insights into their behavior, although we don't know what the sounds mean," said Dr. Camila Ferrara, Aquatic Turtle Specialist for the WCS Brazil Program. "The social behaviors of these reptiles are much more complex than previously thought."

More:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-08/wcs-ss081414.php

[COLGATE4]

1. Not really news anymore

since one of them has been the head of the Rethuglicans in the Senate for years now.

[Thor_MN]

2. Yes, but his vocalizations are just gibberish. There is no content to them.

[Javaman]

3. Turtles are slow. Now Frogs....

[Judi Lynn]

4. Amazonian turtle mothers heard 'talking' to hatchlings to get them into the water

Amazonian turtle mothers heard 'talking' to hatchlings to get them into the water
Monday 18 August 2014

Scientists have observed Giant South American river turtles ‘talking’ to their newly-hatched young, using high-pitched vocalisations that carry better through air and shallow water to guide the nestlings into the water.

The findings, published in a recent edition of the journal Herpetologica, constitutes the first known examples of parental care among turtles - an order of reptiles that have been roaming the Earth for more than 220 million years.

Researchers watched the Amazonian turtles between 2009 and 2011, capturing more than 270 individual sounds during their nesting season using underwater microphones. More than six distinct types of vocalisation were identified, with the scientists speculating that each of these is used to facilitate specific social behaviours.

For example, when the turtles migrated through the river they tended to use low frequency noises that travelled better over long distances, while females about to nest showed the highest diversity of sounds, thought to help the mothers decide on specific nesting sites.

~ video ~

More:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/amazonian-turtle-mothers-heard-talking-to-hatchlings-to-get-them-into-the-water-9675739.html