THERMAL MICROHABITAT AND THE OBSERVED AESTIVATION TEMPERATURES OF THE MUD TURTLE Kinosternon chimalhuaca (CHELONIA: KINOSTERNIDAE)

The thermal niche is the temperature conditions that affect the life history and ecology of any species. Studying how species respond to thermal niche is crucial to understanding their adaptability to the environment. Demographic characteristics of the mud turtle Kinosternon chimalhuaca have been recently evaluated, but information on many ecological aspects is still unknown. Here, we explored the thermal niche temperatures of K. chimalhuaca during a seasonal period of drought. We measured, recorded, and compiled information on body, selected microhabitat and environmental temperatures in active turtles of an aquatic site and compared this information with the microhabitat and environmental temperatures perceived by aestivating turtles in a terrestrial site. The body temperature in active turtles was 24 °C, selected temperatures in the lab were between 23-25 °C, minimal voluntary temperatures of 22 °C and maximal voluntary temperatures of 28 °C. The range temperatures in the underwater microhabitat were 23-28 °C. Temperatures in the microhabitat for aestivation (inside forest) were 15 to 25 °C. Thermal conditions outside the forest (soil temperatures) were higher than the temperatures in the microhabitat used for aestivation. Temperatures in the shallow water were relatively lower than the air temperatures recorded around the aquatic habitat. In addition to facultative aestivation of K. chimalhuaca, our data show different thermal conditions between activity and dormancy microhabitats with the potential to be favorable regarding the surrounding temperatures of environment