Population Study of Eastern Box Turtles, Terrapene carolina, at Fort Custer, Michigan
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Authors
Gorno, Andrea
Issue Date
2005
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
The Eastern box turtle, Terrapene carolina, has become rare or absent in recent
years from much of its former range and is considered a species of special concern in the state of Michigan. This study investigated the population of Eastern box turtles at Fort
Custer to determine the status of the population and also to suggest future land
management recommendations based on the findings of the study. Fort Custer is a
protected area used by the Army National Guard for training. Habitat management and
restoration is a concern at Fort Custer where land use has altered, and may continue to
alter, the environment. Turtles were marked with numbers and multiple terrestrial
habitats were surveyed. The differences between the age, plastron length, habitat
distribution, and predation of male and female turtles were also examined. Very few
juvenile turtles were found and most of the turtles were over the age of 25. Counting the
annuli on the scutes of the turtle and estimating the wear on the shell determined age.
The female sample size was 111 compared to 89 males, suggesting the presence of a
slightly female biased population at Fort Custer. We also found a very high rate of
predation for both sexes, but females appeared to have more signs of predation, even
though more male turtles had missing limbs, which is considered a more serious injury. On average, the males had a longer plastron length than females, as would be expected. The population at Fort Custer appears as if it will decline in the future due to the fact that few juvenile turtles were found, the older age of the current population, and the presence of a high rate of predation. The inability of the population to replace itself in the future coupled with the predation by a high population of raccoons, as well as land use practices and prescribed burning could lead to a decline in the population size of box turtles at Fort Custer.
Description
30 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.