Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Selman, W. , Population distribution and status of two riverine turtles within the pascagoula river system. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Admin (13 Dec 2008 22:23:56 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Selman2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Graptemys, Graptemys flavimaculata, Graptemys gibbonsi, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises Creators: Selman Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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Turtles in the genus Graptemys are highly aquatic, freshwater turtles that demonstrate a high degree of river endemism along the Gulf of Mexico. Within the Pascagoula River system, two species of Graptemys, the yellow-blotched sawback (Graptemys flavimaculata) and the Pascagoula map turtle (Graptemys gibbonsi), occur sympatrically throughout much of the drainage. G. flavimaculata is a federally threatened species whereas G. gibbonsi is considered vulnerable and has no current federal protection. Drainage-wide distribution of each species was determined by visual surveys at 118 bridge crossing localities throughout the Pascagoula River system. Additionally, boat/canoe surveys were employed in more remote areas without any bridge crossings. Individual turtles were identified to species by spotting scope and/or binoculars and tallied at each crossing to give a relative abundance for each bridge locality. Furthermore, two sites were the subject of a mark-recapture study concerning G. flavimaculata to determine turtle density estimates. Bridge survey data suggest that G. flavimaculata occur at the highest relative abundance in the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, south to Vancleave in the Pascagoula River. G. gibbonsi appear to have the highest relative abundance in the Leaf River at Hattiesburg, south to Merrill in the Pascagoula River, but overall, appear to be in lower densities throughout the Pascagoula River system compared to G. flavimaculata. Before legal protection status can be given to G. gibbonsi, more research is needed to determine if observed lower densities of G. gibbonsi are accurate or an artifact of lower basking frequency and/or different basking times than G. flavimaculata.
Added by: Admin |