Abstract
The Rio Grande cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) is an imperiled freshwater turtle native to the southwestern United States and northeastern Mexico. Previous studies investigating P. gorzugi diet have focused on the population occupying the Black River drainage in southeastern New Mexico, while Texas populations have remained unexamined. During the summer and fall of 2020, we studied the dietary habits of P. gorzugi and the syntopic red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) at San Felipe Creek, Texas, USA using fecal content and stable isotope analyses. We also compared the isotopic niches of these 2 co-occurring turtle species. Filamentous algae were, volumetrically, the most important food item for male, female, and juvenile P. gorzugi. Stable isotope mixing models indicated that lotic and lentic filamentous algae had the greatest proportional contribution to P. gorzugi and T. s. elegans diets, respectively. Stable isotope dietary mixing models also indicate T. s. elegans had a more carnivorous diet, composed mostly of red-rimmed melania (Melanoides tuberculata) and red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Carnivory in this species was further supported by enriched δ15N values and higher trophic position estimates. Pseudemys gorzugi and T. s. elegans had δ13C and δ15N signatures that significantly differed, and the 2 species showed little overlap in isotopic niche space, suggesting a low likelihood of intense resource competition. Our results demonstrate that the diet of P. gorzugi, and the isotopic niche overlap between P. gorzugi and T. s. elegans at San Felipe Creek differ from that in the Black River drainage of New Mexico. The information provided here contributes toward a more complete understanding of P. gorzugi ecology, is useful for identifying suitable habitat worthy of conservation, and can help guide the development of feeding regimes for captive assurance colonies.
