Does embryonic behavioral thermoregulation enhance thermoregulatory capacity of turtle hatchlings?

  • Integr Zool. 2024 Sep 8. doi: 10.1111/1749-4877.12902.
Yongpu Zhang  #  1  2 ,  Shuran Li  #  1  2 ,  Yongrui Chen  1 ,  Yinzi Ye  3 ,  Pengfei Wu  3 ,  Lei Xie  1  2 ,  Weiguo DU  3
Affiliations
  • 1. College of Life and Environmental Science, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
  • 2. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory for Water Environment and Marine Biological Resources Protection, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China.
  • 3. Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 39245877 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12902
Abstract

We found that embryonic behavioral thermoregulation could not enhance the thermoregulatory capacity of turtle hatchlings. Our study is not only the first to provide experimental evidence regarding the impact of embryonic behavioral thermoregulation on offspring thermoregulation but also falsifies the play behavior hypothesis that suggests thermotaxis by embryos allows them to practice thermoregulatory tactics at later life stages.

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