Horticulture Research Station

Valenzuela Hort Station Research Report 2025: Painted Turtle Breeding Colony

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Abstract

This year, we used an electric fence around turtle ponds to protect the breeding females and their clutches until the spring 2026. Grass was cut to facilitate female nesting. We provisioned turtles in the turtle ponds, monitored nesting, and collected eggs to study sex determination during embryonic development in the lab. Additional nests were flag and monitored in situ. Hatchlings from some nests were sampled in November, and others will be sampled in the middle of winter and the following spring to study the molecular overwintering adaptations that enable painted turtle hatchlings to survive freezing temperatures during their first year of life.

How to Cite:

(2026) “Valenzuela Hort Station Research Report 2025: Painted Turtle Breeding Colony”, Iowa State University Research and Demonstration Farms Progress Reports 2025(1), 48.