Literaturdatenbank
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Wanchai, P., Thirakhupt, K., & Stanford, C. , Behavioral ecology of manouria emys phayrei in kaeng krachan national park, thailand: preliminary evidence. Paper presented at Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (01 Jan 2009 23:10:48 UTC) |
| Resource type: Proceedings Article BibTeX citation key: Wanchai2007 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Ernährung = nutrition, Habitat = habitat, Manouria, Manouria emys, Manouria impressa, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Südostasien = South East Asia, Testudinidae Creators: Stanford, Thirakhupt, Wanchai Collection: Turtle Survival Alliance 2007 Annual Meeting |
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| Abstract |
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Despite the large body size and widespread Asian distribution of Manouria emys, it remains one of the most poorly known large tortoises. In this paper we describe our ongoing field study of M. emys, based on fieldwork since 2005 in Thailand. M. emys and its congener M. impressa appear adapted to seasonally wet montane forest environments, with M. impressa typically occurring at higher elevations than M. emys. We report on preliminary field data from a study of M. emys phayrei, in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. The study was begun in 2005, and currently includes ten adult and subadult animals in the 2.0 sq. km. study area. New animals of all age classes are still being found in the study site. The study site is rugged and the tortoises are frequently encountered on slopes of up to 45 degrees. Preliminary ranging data from telemetry suggest that the tortoises spend most of their time near streams, but can travel up to 1 km from water to the highest ridges in the area. Some animals remain stationary under bamboo leaves or tree roots during the coldest months. Other animals remain active during this period, and are found foraging or sitting in streams with air and water temperature approximately 20o C. Diet consists of a variety of herbaceous groundcover plants, in particular Alocasia sp. and Colocasia sp., plus bamboo shoots. Tortoises fed on a variety of plant species. Zingiber sp. and Bambusa sp. were the main foods in dry season, and wet season, respectively. Plants from families Araceae, Gramineae, Zingiberaceae, Musaceae, Marantaceae, Urticaceae, Piperaceae and Commelinaceae were also eaten. Tortoises have been seen feeding on fungi growing on rotting logs in streams. We discuss implications of these results for understanding the biology of the genus Manouria.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |