an introduced invasive species that is displacing native turtles in the Iberian
Peninsula. Interspecific differences in morphology, basking requirements and behavioral responses have
been found between Spanish terrapins and introduced sliders. Therefore, we hypothesized that Tb might differentially
affect righting behavior of these two turtle species. We found a clear effect of Tb on righting
response of both M. leprosa and T. scripta, with the performance enhanced at the preferred basking temperature
of each turtle species. These results suggest that righting might be coadapted to preferred basking temperature
in freshwater turtles. Also, M. leprosa required longer times to right on average than T. scripta, which
denotes a higher efficiency of introduced sliders at righting performance. These interspecific behavioral
asymmetries in righting performance between native and exotic turtles might contribute to the greater competitive
ability of introduced T. scripta, favoring the expansion of exotic sliders in the new environments in
which they are introduced, in detriment to native Spanish terrapins