Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Ray, S. , Corridors and habitat selection of the eastern box turtle, terrapene carolina, at gifford pinchot state park, york county, pa. Paper presented at Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop.
Added by: Admin (14 Aug 2008 20:33:46 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Ray2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises Creators: Ray Collection: Third Box Turtle Conservation Workshop |
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| Abstract |
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A population of eastern box turtles has been monitored at Gifford Pinchot State Park since 2001. The purpose of this study has been to establish baseline data for the number of turtles present in the park and to learn more about their habitat use within the park. Currently 173 box turtles have been identified. Morphometric data collected on all turtles includes carapace length and width, hinge width and mass. Each turtle has been photographed and marked with a unique identifying number by notching the marginal scales. In addition to monitoring the population within the park, several aspects of their biology have been investigated: In 2001, eight box turtles (4 males, 3 females and 1 juvenile) were monitored by means of radio transmitters and tracked on a weekly basis from the beginning of June through the end of December. The location of each turtle was recorded each time it was tracked with a GPS unit. These points were used to create maps showing the movements of the turtles and the size of their home ranges. In 2006, another group of five females were outfitted with transmitters and tracked in an attempt to locate nesting and over-wintering areas as well as the corridors used to access these areas. A map showing the locations of all turtle road crossings in and out of the park has been maintained since 2001 and is updated each year. During the past five years over 30 box turtles have been killed on roads around the park. This number does not reflect the true number of casualties as the evidence quickly disappears.
Added by: Admin |