Literaturdatenbank
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Norton, T. M., Behler, J. L., Spratt, J. S., Tuberville, T. D., Garcia, A., & Hayes, R., et al. , St. catherines island gopher tortoise translocation project 1994-2004: an overview. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2006 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Admin (13 Dec 2008 22:23:49 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Norton2006 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Gopherus, Gopherus agassizii, Gopherus polyphemus, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Testudinidae, Veterinärmedizin = veterinary medicine Creators: Behler, Dierenfeld, Garcia, Hayes, Norton, Raphael, Rostal, Spratt, Tuberville Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2006 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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Testudinidae In May 1994, seventy-five Gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus, were captured from a sandhill that was being developed outside Statesboro, Georgia and translocated to St. Catherines Island, Georgia. The translocation was a cooperative effort of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Wildlife Survival Center and Bronx Zoo, St. Catherines Island Foundation, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Nongame-Endangered Wildlife Program and Georgia Southern University. Each captured tortoise went through a thorough physical examination and diagnostic workup that included clinical pathology, vitamin A, E, and D plasma levels, Mycoplasma serology and polymerase chain reaction, tick identification, endoparasite evaluation, sexing, body measurements, and body weight. All tortoises were permanent identified by notching and pit tagging. Females were radiographed to verify the presence of eggs. Representative numbers of animals were recaptured and examined biannually until 1996 and annually thereafter. At the time of translocation, 85% of the tested population was serologically positive for Mycoplasma agassizii antibodies and in 2004 100% were antibody positive and 50% had positive PCR values. The results from this study indicate that the colony is showing good site fidelity, recruitment and health. Monitoring will continue in order to determine the long-term success of the project. Project objectives from our work in 2006 include: Objective 1: Evaluate reproductive success (clutch size, clutch mass, mean egg size, mean egg mass, % hatching success in lab, mean hatchling size, percent of females reproducing in population). Objective 2: Collect field data on stage-specific survivorship in two translocated populations of gopher tortoises in Georgia. # conduct intensive trapping of all age classes # summarize previously collected survivorship data Objective 3: Develop separate demographic models for native and translocated gopher tortoise populations using RAMAS Metapop 5.0.
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