No abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Herpetology.ABSTRACT.-Estimates were made of the activity, movement patterns, habitat use, and home range size of adult yellow-margined box turtles (Cuora flavomarginata) in the Feitsui Reservoir Protected Area, northern Taiwan. Data collected from May 1996 to February 1998 by mark-recapture and radiotelemetry indicated that C. flavomarginata is exclusively terrestrial. The distribution of captures and relocations offered no evidence of aquatic habits. The activity and movement patterns varied seasonally and between sexes. From April to July, females were captured more frequently than males, suggesting that the activity of females was greater than that of males. By contrast, males were captured more frequently than females from August to October. Seasonal habitat preference also was observed for both sexes. Gravid females usually stayed near the border of evergreen forests during the nesting season of April to July (61.5%), and then moved back into the forest's interior (56.3%). Males tended to remain in the densely vegetated areas of evergreen forest throughout the year. Although the home range size varied greatly among individuals (0.07-6.39 ha), males tended to have larger home range sizes (3.53 ha) than females (0.53 ha). Activity of C. flavomarginata reduced dramatically after October. Most individuals selected areas with dense vegetation as overwintering sites, where they buried themselves under leaf litter or fallen logs, or used abandoned burrows of other animals as retreats.

Because of burgeoning demand in the Chinese market and extensive habitat loss more than half of the freshwater turtle and tortoise species in Asia are categorized as Endangered or Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. To investigate the distribution and status of the native freshwater turtle species of Taiwan a trapping programme was conducted during 2001–2007, yielding a total of 1,828 individuals of four native species at 103 sites. Mauremys sinensis was the most abundant and widely distributed species; it was collected from 70 sites and accounted for 78.6% of all turtles captures. Mauremys mutica comprised 17.8% at 46 sites. Pelodiscus sinensis were captured in low numbers at 19 sites. No Mauremys reevesii were collected on the main island of Taiwan but the species was found on Kinmen Island near mainland China. Capture success was low at most sites and overall sex ratios were significantly male-biased in all species, suggesting that the freshwater turtles have suffered from the negative effects of habitat disturbance and extensive exploitation. Effective conservation measures are urgently required to ensure the viability of the native freshwater turtle species of Taiwan.

Thermal preference of free-living yellow-margined box turtle, Cuora flavomarginata, was studied in a mesic forested habitat using a combination of radiotransmitters and temperature dataloggers attached to individual turtles. Patterns of mean weekly shell surface temperature variation of selected individuals were highly related to seasonal change of environmental temperature, with a peak temperature of 24.5-25.1 • C in males and 26.0-27.0 • C in females during June and July. Minimum shell surface temperature occurred in late January (4.5-7.6 • C). Despite a small sample size, there were significantly intersexual differences in mean weekly shell surface temperature during nesting season. Individual females of C. flavomarginata tended to maintain higher shell surface temperature during nesting season (May-July). This difference was mostly pronounced during the day. There were no obviously intersexual differences prior to and after nesting season. Our results do not support the previous predictions that gravid C. flavomarginata may select higher environmental temperatures prior to nesting season.