South American River Turtles use sound for communication
Paula Marie Navarra | | Aug 16, 2014 03:56 PM EDT |
A new study showed that the South American River Turtles found in the Brazilian Amazon use sound to stick together and care for their young.
The South American River Turtles are known for different names like Arrau River Turtle and Charapa Turtle.
They are the largest side neck turtle found not just in Brazil but also in Columbia, Peru and Venezuela.
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Adults can reach 3 meters in length, female South American River Turtles are known to have flat shells and tend to be larger than males.
Scientists found out that the turtle can use different vocal communication to coordinate their social behavior.
Camila Ferrera from the Wildlife Conservation Society said that this turtles have a distinctive sound that gives insight to their behavior even though scientists are baffled about their meaning.
The social behaviors of these reptiles are more complex than previously thought, she said.
Scientists said that there are some behaviors of the turtle that are well known for some time but the mechanism used by turtles to coordinate their activities still needs to be explained.
In their study, they found out that the sounds made by migrating turtles tend to be on low frequency to establish contact on other turtles over longer distances.
When the turtles are nesting they tend to produce higher frequency sounds, scientist said.
Higher frequency sounds travel better in the air and shallow water, they added.
They said that females produce the highest diversity of sound when they are about to nest, this is to decide the nesting site and synchronize their movements.
The turtle off springs also produce sound before they hatch that stimulates group hatching, which is answered by their mothers that guide them through the water.
Julie Kunen, one of the researchers, said that this groundbreaking study can help scientist better understands the relationship of animals and their environment.
She believes that through the protection of this turtles they could understand the behavior of these reptile.
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