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13 Feb

TN Aquarium, UC Davis Study Offers Insight Into Size Differences Between Male, Female Turtles

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Chattanooga, Tenn. (Feb. 13, 2018) – It may sound like a lofty concept, but understanding sexual dimorphism — or the difference in size or appearance between males and females of a particular species — is simple enough if you consider male birds. From crimson Cardinals and azure Peafowl to emerald-crowned Wood Ducks, the bird world is packed with examples of males exhibiting brighter, more vivid coloring than their comparatively drab females counterparts.

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31 Jan

Saving Nature's Unseen Architects: New Study Will Help With management Plan for Gopher Tortoises

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Chattanooga, Tenn. (January 31, 2018) – With wide, spade-like claws and sturdy hind legs, the Gopher Tortoise seems almost purpose-built to move earth. Like shelled bulldozers, these reptilian excavators dig deep, winding tunnels beneath the scrublands and coastal dunes of the American Southeast. These burrows provide crucial shelter for the tortoises as well as hundreds of other species, from Eastern Indigo Snakes to Gopher Frogs to Burrowing Owls.

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17 Oct

Students Release First Class of Lake Sturgeon Raised at Tennessee Aquarium's New Science Center

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Chattanooga, Tenn. (Oct. 17, 2017) – In October 2016, the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute opened a brand new freshwater science center on the banks of the Tennessee River. On Monday, conservationists celebrated a major milestone in reintroducing the first Lake Sturgeon raised at the new facility into their native waterway.

With the help of students from Gap Creek Elementary School in Knoxville, Tenn., Aquarium biologists released about 700 juvenile Lake Sturgeon at Seven Island State Birding Park just a few miles east of the Tennessee River’s headwaters.

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15 Sep

Tennessee Aquarium Researchers Create First Map of North America's Turtle Communities

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Chattanooga, Tenn. (Sept. 15, 2017) – When it comes to conserving a species, scientists first must know two things: Where they live and why they reside there. A first-of-its-kind study conducted by Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute scientists Dr. Josh Ennen and Sarah Sweat seeks to answer these fundamental questions regarding North America’s many turtle species.

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15 Aug

Four babies, 16 "eyes": Aquarium hatches two pair of rare Four-eyed and Beal's Four-eyed Turtles

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Chattanooga, Tenn. (Aug. 15, 2017) – When it comes to breeding some turtles, making even small changes to their environment can be like trying to introduce new foods to an especially picky eater.

“You don’t want to go changing a lot of stuff, or you may unsettle them and have to wait until next year to try again,” says Tennessee Aquarium Senior Herpetologist Bill Hughes. “With some turtle species, it doesn’t matter. With others, you move them to a different space, and they don’t lay eggs for five years. It throws them off track.”

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