• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.3
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• pp.192-197
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• 2023

This study was conducted to determine whether the difference in egg hatching temperature of Korea Reeves' turtle (Mauremys reevesii) at the artificial nursery of Seoul National Grand Park affects the incubation period and growth. A total of 201 eggs were incubated at 26 ℃ (n=89), 28 ℃ (n=75) and 32 ℃ (n=37). The incubation period of eggs showed significant differences according to the hatching temperature. In this study, the higher the hatching temperature, the higher the hatching rate. The incubation period of the eggs hatched at 26 ℃, 28 ℃ and 32 ℃ was 66.1 (±4.0, n = 52) days, 65.3 (±3.3, n = 44) days and 58.8 (±7.7, n = 31) days, respectively. Eggs incubated at 32 ℃ (83.8%) had a higher hatching success than those at 26 ℃ (58.4%) and 28 ℃ (58.7%). The body mass of 14-day-old hatchlings incubated at 32 ℃ was greater than those incubated at 26 ℃ and 28 ℃. However, there was no significant difference in the mean body mass of 180 and 270-day-old turtles hatched at these different temperatures. This study showed that the hatching temperature significantly affected the incubation period and body mass in the early life of the Korea Reeves' turtle (M. reevesii).