Sunbathing Turtles

Pictured here is an aggregation of turtles sunbathing on a rock in the middle of a pond. These turtles are most likely common snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina, although this is not completely clear. These turtles are unable to regulate their body temperatures and are therefore completely dependent on the temperature of their environment. Because of this, they need to frequently sunbathe in order to maintain their ideal body temperatures. Because snapping turtles eat both plant and animal matter, they are considered important aquatic scavengers as well as active hunters. Common snapping turtles have only a few predators when they are adults, but eggs are subject to predation by many different sources. This points towards snapping turtles having a type III survivorship curve where most individuals die at a young age and adults having a relatively low annual mortality rate.

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