Activity Metabolism of Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta)

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Abstract
When painted turtles engage in a 2-min period of intense exercise in a dry metabolic chamber at 25.degree. C, their rate of O2 consumption from chamber air rises from a resting level of 0.0302 cm3 O2 g-1 h-1 to a maximal level of 0.1837 cm3 O2 g-1 h-1, their total body lactate content increases from 0.145 to 0.255 mg lactate g-1, and their lung O2 concentration remains unchanged. In contrast, a 2-min burst of swimming by painted turtles in 18 cm of water at 25.degree. C is associated with a statistically insignificant change in O2 uptake, a rise in total body lactate content from 0.188 to 0.487 mg lactate g-1, and a decline in lung O2 concentration from 17.18 to 13.26%. Of the ATP liberated during maximal activity by a painted turtle in a terrestrial environment, 56 come from anaerobic pathways whereas 71% of the ATP provided during burst swimming come from this source. The total metabolic scope for activity for painted turtles in water is over twice that of animals in a dry metabolic chamber. Thus, the energetics of muscular activity of painted turtles differs considerably between land and water. Measurement of the depletion of O2 stores is important in assessing the relative importance of aerobic and anaerobic metabolism during activity in aquatic species.

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