{
  "abstract": "Freshwater chelonians face severe extinction risk, and head-starting programs increasingly rely on captive rearing to offset poor recruitment. However, evaluating success by growth and release numbers overlooks welfare and post-release competence. We assessed head-started Critically Endangered Batagur dhongoka and Batagur kachuga under five enrichment treatments, combining growth data with individual-level behavioural scans and 24-hour group activity budgets over 367 days. Final body mass was highest under mixed enrichment (141.1 g) and lowest under no-enrichment (108.1 g). B. kachuga were heavier than B. dhongoka under all treatments. Enrichment-related behaviour was highest under natural enrichment (52.5%) and lowest under no-enrichment (11.9%), while stress-related behaviour was lowest under seminatural enrichment (1.6%) and highest under no-enrichment (10.7%). Mixed enrichment produced the highest basking response and most balanced group activity budget; natural enrichment the highest shelter-use response. Integrating growth and behaviour at the same month × species × treatment scale, natural enrichment ranked first, mixed second, and no-enrichment last. Environmental enrichment shapes growth and behaviour differently; growth and behavioural metrics should therefore be treated as complementary rather than interchangeable indicators of captive-rearing success. Each species-treatment combination comprised a single chamber, with individual-level behaviour from one marked animal; results are therefore descriptive rather than independently replicated.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Ashish Kumar Panda",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-6722-8040"
    },
    {
      "name": "Debdulal Jana",
      "orcid": "0009-0001-9157-4565"
    },
    {
      "name": "Anupam Srivastav",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3533-9760"
    },
    {
      "name": "Syed Ainul Hussain",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3229-806X"
    },
    {
      "name": "Ruchi Badola",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7124-5134"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1rkgn68k258ed.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1038/s41598-026-74436-0",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "1rkgn68k258ed",
  "issns": [
    "2045-2322"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-74436-0",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "3404|Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7203952151",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-74436-0.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-11",
  "publisher": "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1rkgn68k258ed.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
      "native_id": "10.1038/s41598-026-74436-0",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-74436-0"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [],
  "title": "Environmental enrichment affects growth and behaviour differently in head-started critically endangered freshwater turtles",
  "title_text": "Environmental enrichment affects growth and behaviour differently in head-started critically endangered freshwater turtles",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:26Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/1rkgn68k258ed",
  "venue": "Scientific Reports",
  "versions": []
}