Literaturdatenbank
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Foertmeyer, S. N., & Mitchell, J. C. , Husbandry techniques for captive box turtles: maximizing scientific value of natural history observations. Paper presented at Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop.
Added by: Admin (14 Aug 2008 20:33:43 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Foertmeyer2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Habitat = habitat, Haltung = husbandry, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises Creators: Foertmeyer, Mitchell Collection: Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop |
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| Abstract |
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Many well-meaning concerned citizens remove box turtles from roads and development sites throughout their range in an effort to “rescue” them. Turtles are released in local habitats or, as is most often the case, taken some distance away and released in natural habitat or kept in backyards. Most often, turtles are rescued individually; only rarely are entire colonies moved from sites undergoing urban development. We describe (1) the husbandry techniques developed by one of us (SF) to maintain a healthy population rescued from an urbanized site in Virginia and (2) the types of information obtained from observations of these turtles to demonstrate that detailed data can be derived from such efforts. Natural history observations on behavior, mating partners, phenology, overwintering, growth, egg laying, egg and clutch data, hatchlings and other parameters can be taken in ways to enhance their scientific value. The first requirement is to write down everything observed however trivial it may seem. Collection of eggs followed by incubation individually or by clutch by mother by year yields opportunities to ask scientific questions that could not be asked without detailed husbandry efforts. We describe the protocol used by SF to obtain such data on a single colony of rescued turtles and point out that similar efforts done in other parts of this species’ range would produce valuable scientific and conservation information.
Added by: Admin |