Buoyancy Control in the Freshwater Turtle, <i>Pseudemys scripta elegans</i>

Abstract

Freshwater turtles (Pseudemys scripta elegans) significantly corrected experimental displacements of their specific gravity. By reciprocally changing the volumes of lung air and stored water, they set their buoyancy and maintained their body volume. The cloacal bursae may be the active site for water storage and exchange in this mechanism.