Descriptive Ecology of a Turtle Assemblage in an Urban Landscape

Abstract

Notes aiid Discussion Descriptive Ecology of a Turtle Assemblage in an Urban Landscape cr.-We studied luixle populations inhabiting a canal and a lake (both mau-tnadc) within a hoavi!y disturbed, urban setting. Six aquatic and semi-aquaiic turtle .species were collected in both liabitats: spiny softshell turtle (Afiohne apinifera). painted turtle (Chrysimys pkta), coninmn snapping tnil!e {Uielydra strfuniliua), common map turtle {Grnptpmys gungrtiphira). common musk turiJe (Sttmolhentf odimilus) and rod-caied siidcr {Trachemys srripla). VVIiik' ('-. gpograpliiai WAS the must common species in the canal habit:it, 7! sniplfi WAS most (ommon in ihe lake habitat. We describe patterns of sexual size tlinioiphism and sex rdtio.s for the three most abundant species (fi. gengmphica, T. scripta and S. udoralus). We discuss our data in light of problems facing turtle assemblages in urban settings. iNTRODlKmON Habitat conversion and degradation is generally recognized as the most pervasive and important of the six major threats to biodiversity (other tJireats being invasive species, enviionmenlal poltutioii, disease/parasitism, unsustainable use and global climate change; Gibbons ft uL. 2t)00). The major effect of habitat conversion is the outright loss of critical habitats for essential life functions, including feeding {Vickery el «/., 2001), courting and nesting (Heckert et ai. 2(>03) and hibernation (Ball, 2002). Habitat conversion as the result of increasing urbanization, in particular, affect.s a wide aiTay of organisms, from large carnivores (Reilty et al.. 2003) tn buticrflies (Collingc et al.. 2003) to plants (Frtinsisco-Ortgca et al., 20((0) in terrestrial situations and from salaniatiders (Willsoti and Dorcas, 2003) to fish (Paul and Meyer. 20111) to algae (Fore and Gmle, 2002) in aquatic environments.

Movement and habitat use of the snapping turtle in an urban landscape

“…Similar to T. scripta and G. geographica, our results indicated the importance of upland woodlot habitat in the spatial ecology of C. serpentina in an urban landscape. In addition, there is reason to suspect that road density near the Central Canal may be playing an important role in shaping community structure and distribution (Conner et al 2005;Ryan et al 2008). Collectively, these results emphasize the influence of human activities on the habitat use and movement of these turtle species in the Central Canal and highlight the significance of considering spatial ecology and habitat use of various riparian species in urban management designs.…”

“…1; for more details regarding the study site, please see Conner et al 2005;Peterman and Ryan 2009;Ryan et al 2008and 2004 C. serpentina adults (12 female, 11 male; Table 1) were radiotracked through the majority of the active season (roughly 15 May through 30 September) and selectively during the winters to understand movement patterns and habitat use. Turtles were collected using baited 0.76-m hoop traps (Conner et al 2005). Radiotransmitters (ATS Inc., Isanti, MI, USA) set on an 18-h duty cycle (active between 06:00 and 24:00) were attached to the posterior region of the carapace with aluminum machine bolts and plumber's epoxy (Ryan et al 2008).…”

“…Freshwater turtles are hearty constituents of urban landscapes (Conner et al 2005;Mitchell 1988;Souza and Abe 2000) and some species are able to acclimate and thrive in harsh conditions (Hays and Mcbee 2010;Souza and Abe 2000). However, the potential negative impacts of urbanization on the biology and population structure of turtle communities can be profound and diverse (Marchand and Litvaitis 2004a;Ryan et al 2008;Steen and Gibbs 2004).…”

“…While recent work suggests that phenomena associated with urbanization, such as road mortality, can impact population demographics of C. serpentina (Steen and Gibbs 2004), there is a lack of understanding of their spatial ecology in urban areas where these threats are the greatest. Conner et al (2005) reported that C. serpentina is a prominent member of the turtle assemblage in the Central Canal. The objective of the current study is to evaluate the movements and habitat use of C. serpentina in the Central Canal, which bisects Indianapolis, and is bordered by a variety of terrestrial habitats with varying degrees of human influence.…”

Riparian Habitat Dissimilarities in Restored and Reference Streams are Associated with Differences in Turtle Communities in the Southeastern Piedmont

“…Three traps were set within a 60-m reach according to standard methods (Steen and Gibbs 2004) and checked daily. Although species and sex biases have been documented with this trapping method (DonnerWright et al 1999;Tran et al 2007), the use of aquatic hoop traps for freshwater community studies is common, widely accepted and effective in studies of semi-aquatic turtle communities (Conner et al 2005;Gibbs and Steen 2005;Glorioso et al 2010).…”