EMBRYO MORTALITY AND HATCHING RATE OF TRA CHEMYS-SCRIPTA (TESTUDINES,EMYDIDAE) EGGS ARTIFICIALLY DEVELOPED IN A PROTECTED NATURAL AREA

In the northeast of Costa Rica, illegal collecting, habitat destructio n and heavy predation on adult females, young and eggs of Trachemys sc ripta produced a population decline in recent years. The slider turtle has a high reproductive potential and nests were relocated. Between J anuary and March 1991, 179 nests (3220 eggs) were collected from natur al areas of Cano Negro National Wildlife Refuge, Costa Rica and reloca ted for incubation under natural conditions in a protected site. The m ean of number of eggs per clutch was 19.5 +/- 4.5 (range 8 to 31) and the mean incubation period was 77.4 +/- 11.4 days (range 50 to 110 day s). The mean hatching success was 89.6 +/- 3.4% (range 60.0 to 100%). The mean early and mid embryonic mortality was 5.5 +/- 4.3%, the avera ge late embryonic mortality was 8.5 +/- 3.5% and infertility 1.8 +/- 1 .0%.