Temperature levels and periods of sex determination during incubation of eggs of <i>Chelydra serpentina</i>

Abstract

Eggs of Chelydra serpentina were shifted during incubation between the female producing temperatures of 20°C or 30°C and the male producing temperature of 26°C. In the 20°C and 26°C combination, the stages during which incubation temperature determined sex were stage 14 through stage 16 (stages of normal series, Yntema, '68). In the 30°C and 26°C combination, the temperature sensitive stages for sex determination were stage 14 through stage 19. Incubation at 26°C throughout this period was needed to produce all males. Incubation at 30°C during either the first or second half of the period produced nearly all females; shorter periods of incubation at 30°C were more effective in producing females during the second half of the sensitive period. In the 20°C and 26°C combination, incubation at 20°C or 26°C for parts of the sensitive period produced both males and females. In three of the 57 clutches of eggs used in the experiments, incidence of females was atypically high.