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Koukl, J. F., Byboth, A., Rispin, K., Bolanowski, D., & Keyes, J. , Radiotelemetry studies on hatchling, juvenile, resident and relocated adult, three-toed box turtles (terrapene carolina triungius) in east texas. Paper presented at Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop.
Added by: Admin (14 Aug 2008 20:33:44 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Koukl2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Terrapene, Terrapene carolina Creators: Bolanowski, Byboth, Keyes, Koukl, Rispin Collection: Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop |
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| Abstract |
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Over a seven-year period the behavior of hatchling, juvenile, and adult three-toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triungius) has been examined via a series of studies. For adults, both resident and translocated turtles were monitored. During daily radio-tracking of each age group we collected data on specific movements, habitat preference, home range, and predation rates. Turtles were radio-tracked on a 153-hectare mixed forest area in East Texas. During radio-tracking and organized searches, 98 adult box turtles were captured, marked, and released with 12 recaptures recorded. One hundred percent of 22 hatchlings and 16 juveniles radio-tracked were predated over a 4-month and 16 month period, respectively. None of the adult turtles were predated. Hatchling and juvenile turtles were cryptic in behavior and did not exhibit a tendency for dispersal, mainly remaining hidden under dense cover. Resident adult box turtles exhibited a circular movement pattern compared to a more linear movement pattern for translocated turtles. Both resident and translocated radio-tracked turtles remained on the study site with the exception of one translocated turtle that swam across Lake Tyler (800m) in one day. After being returned to the study site this turtle traveled in the opposite direction from Lake Tyler and has remained for 7 years and behaves similarly to resident turtles. In a more empirical study, we compared two different groups of radio-tracked adult, translocated, three-toed box turtles that were provided different acclimation periods prior to release: hard-release (2 weeks acclimation, n = 5) vs. soft-release (88 weeks acclimation, n = 5). Minimum convex polygon analysis showed no statistical difference in home range between hard-released and soft-released groups. Population status of Terrapene at the study site may be difficult to assess due to the larger numbers of older, adult individuals and inadequate techniques for locating cryptic hatchling and juvenile age classes. These characteristics may allow for overestimation of population size, which may be detrimental to the long-term survival of populations and the species. It appears that box turtle conservation will become a larger problem in the future as older, adult populations diminish in size and are slowly lost, especially given our data on recruitment. Preservation of these populations will depend on addressing core causes of decline such as habitat fragmentation and over-predation. Data presented here will give better insight as to the behavior of age classes, predation rates, and possible population dynamics in forest fragments in East Texas. In addition, data from our repatriation and translocation observations will also be discussed as a viable technique for supplementation and reestablishment of box turtle populations.
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