Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Kapfer, J. M., Muñoz, D. J., Groves, J. D., & Kirk, R. W. (2013). Home range and habitat preferences of eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina linnaeus, 1758) in the piedmont ecological province of north carolina (usa). Herpetology Notes, 6, 251–260.
Added by: Admin (06 Jan 2014 18:24:43 UTC) |
| Resource type: Journal Article BibTeX citation key: Kapfer2013 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Habitat - habitat, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Terrapene carolina Creators: Groves, Kapfer, Kirk, Muñoz Collection: Herpetology Notes |
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| Abstract |
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The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) has a broad geographic distribution in North America. Although relatively common in some portions of its range, it has experienced drastic population declines in others, presumably in large part due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Understanding the relationship between habitat preferences and movement patterns is important to the conservation of this species. We used radio telemetry to obtain information on the habitat preferences and movement patterns of Eastern Box Turtles at three sites in the Piedmont of North Carolina (USA). We summarized the proportion of radio telemetry locations for turtles in various habitats to coarsely assess turtle habitat associations. We also measured turtle habitat preferences by comparing habitat use to availability with compositional analysis. Although compositional analysis did not support preference for specific habitat types, turtles were located more frequently in lowland and upland deciduous hardwood forests. We also estimated turtle home ranges as 100% minimum convex polygons (MCPs), and calculated an average home range size of 2.68 ha, with substantial variation among individuals. Habitat and movement studies of Eastern Box Turtles are not common in the Piedmont and our results add important information to the growing body of literature on these topics.
Added by: Admin |