Literaturdatenbank
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Tucker, C. R., Strickland, J. T., & Ligon, D. B. , Reintroduction program reveals homing behavior and a previously unknown nesting strategy in terrapene ornata (abstract). Unpublished paper presented at 2013 Box Turtle Conservation Workshop.
Added by: Admin (06 Jan 2014 18:25:26 UTC) |
| Resource type: Conference Paper BibTeX citation key: Tucker2013 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Fortpflanzung - reproduction, Habitat - habitat, Nordamerika - North America, Schildkröten - turtles + tortoises, Terrapene ornata, Verhalten - ethology Creators: Ligon, Strickland, Tucker Collection: 2013 Box Turtle Conservation Workshop |
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| Abstract |
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A long term research and conservation program was initiated in 2008 at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in northwestern Illinois. Because ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata) are threatened in Illinois, our initial goals were to determine the species’ population status on seven local prairies and to assess the feasibility of a reintroduction program. Searches using trained dogs confirmed box turtle presence at six of seven prairies, one of which was not previously known to support box turtles. A reintroduction program was initiated in which eggs were collected from a donor population and head-started for one year before release at a former military depot from which box turtles had been extirpated. Each year, half of the head-started turtles were released inside an enclosure at the former military depot and half were released at the donor site. When nests were located, eggs from some nests were collected for the head-start program and temperature data loggers were placed into other nests that were allowed to incubate naturally. During nest searches, some nesting females were found to be completely underground during nesting. This behavior may allow females to oviposit deeper in the substrate, thus influencing the incubation environment. This may be important for a species that exhibits temperature-dependent sex determination. Females found to have nested underground had deeper nests, but average temperatures did not significantly differ from other nests. However, temperature profiles in deeper nests fluctuated less and had lower maximum temperatures, factors which also influence survivorship and gonadal development. Finally, some Terrapene species exhibit homing behavior, which has apparently affected spatial use of the release-site enclosure. Some translocated individuals were frequently observed at the enclosure’s edge, presumably the result of homing behavior and attempts to return to former home ranges. Monitoring revealed that translocated turtles tended to be closer to the enclosure edge than resident or head-started turtles. However, the average distance to the fence increased in successive years among translocated turtles but remained the same for resident and head-started turtles, indicating that homing declined over time.
Added by: Admin |