This Turtle Carries a Living Garden #animals #shorts

The green growth covering this turtle is algae. Freshwater turtles provide surfaces where algae and microscopic organisms can attach and grow. Organisms living on the outside of another animal are called epibionts, and a turtle can carry an entire community of them as it moves through the water. The visible strands are only part of that community. Researchers studying freshwater turtle shells have found bacteria, microscopic algae called diatoms and other tiny organisms. Examining these communities reveals relationships that are easy to miss when looking at the turtle alone. Algae coverage depends on environmental conditions and the turtle’s behaviour. Research on European pond turtles found that algal growth differed between habitats and among age and sex groups. Basking, which periodically dries the shell, also helps influence how much algae remains attached. A thick green coating therefore cannot establish an exact age or prove decades of uninterrupted growth. What it does show is how an animal’s body can become a habitat itself. Researchers are investigating whether these attached communities can also provide useful information about the freshwater environments turtles inhabit. #animals #wildlife #nature #natureholic #TurtleFacts #FreshwaterTurtles Nature, wildlife, animals, animal facts, wildlife facts, nature facts, amazing animals, wild animals, animal shorts, wildlife shorts, nature shorts, animal videos, wildlife videos, nature videos, turtle, turtle facts, turtle algae, freshwater turtles, turtle shell, aquatic ecosystems