Literaturdatenbank |
Beshara, A. L. (2009). Determining population boundaries and densities of red-eared slider turtles (trachemys scripta): an empirical field test. Unpublished thesis , University of Central Oklahoma, Edmont.
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich (30 Oct 2011 14:52:30 UTC) |
Resource type: Thesis/Dissertation BibTeX citation key: Beshara2009 View all bibliographic details |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Habitat = habitat, Nordamerika = North America, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Trachemys, Trachemys scripta Creators: Beshara Publisher: University of Central Oklahoma (Edmont) |
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URLs http://library.uco ... /BesharaAL2009.pdf |
Abstract |
Source-sink metapopulations consist of large source subpopulations surrounded by smaller sink subpopulations where predictable migrations correlate with habitat favorability. From 1996-2003, Trachemys scripta were trapped in a permanent pond in central Oklahoma. In 2003, drought resulted in an influx of unmarked adults, presumably immigrants from nearby ephemeral ponds, suggesting a source-sink metapopulation. From 2004-2006, I sampled 14 ponds, and analyzed migration data from 1996-2003 to select among population models. My objectives were to define natural population boundaries, test the source-sink hypothesis, and estimate migration rates and population density. From 1996-2006, 18,285 captures of 2,087 turtles were recorded, including 622 migrants. The direction of migrations supported the source-sink hypothesis. Migrations were negatively correlated with inter-pond distance. Using POPAN, population density estimates from 2005 were 135 individuals/ha, compared to 364 individuals/ha from 2003. These results suggest that long-term population studies should expand sampling to include multiple ponds in order to account for migration
Added by: Sarina Wunderlich |