Home Range and Philopatry in the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata, in Iowa

Bernstein, Neil P.; Richtsmeier, Rebecca J.; Re, Black; Montgomery, Benjamin R.

doi:10.1674/0003-0031(2007)157[162:hrapit]2.0.co;2

Cited by 35 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Adult turtles at our study site spent 95% of their time within a core area of 2.6 ha. As reported in other populations, ornate box turtles in northwestern Illinois exhibited high site fidelity both to previous years' home ranges (Nieuwolt 1996;Curtain 1997;Bernstein et al 2007) and to overwintering sites (Metcalf and Metcalf 1979;Doroff and Keith 1990;Converse et al 2002;Bernstein et al 2007). In our study population, 82% of overwintering locations were within 15 m of an individual's hibernaculum of the previous year, and 57% were within 5 m. Estimates of home range size were not larger for individuals for which we had more radio-locations or tracked over more years (e.g., Anich et al 2009); therefore, we are confident that we acquired sufficient radio-locations for all individuals to accurately assess home range sizes.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Home ranges in our study population were similar to those of an Iowa population (Bernstein et al 2007), but smaller than in a Wisconsin population (Doroff and Keith 1990) and larger than in a New Mexico population (Nieuwolt 1996). Adult turtles at our study site spent 95% of their time within a core area of 2.6 ha.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…In addition, the strong site fidelity exhibited by ornate box turtles in our study indicates that individuals maintain familiar home ranges among years and that within those home ranges they habitually return to sites in which they have successfully overwintered previously. Similar fidelity to nest sites has been observed in other populations (Bernstein et al 2007). Individuals translocated to a novel area are unfamiliar with locations that provide suitable conditions for hibernation or nest development and may be at increased risk of overwintering mortality or nest failure compared to unmanipulated animals (reviewed in Reinert 1991;Germano and Bishop 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Home Range and Site Fidelity of Imperiled Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) in Northwestern Illinois

Refsnider¹,

Strickland

Janzen³

2012

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

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The destruction of prairies has led to the decline of the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornate) across much of its range. Land management agencies are considering translocation programs to restore populations to areas from which they have been extirpated. For these conservation efforts to be successful, long-term posttranslocation monitoring is necessary to ensure that translocated individuals behave and use habitat similarly to unmanipulated individuals. We conducted a 3-yr radiotelemetry study of a potential source population of ornate box turtles to provide baseline data on home range size and site fidelity pretranslocation. Adult males and females did not differ in minimum convex polygon home range size (mean 4.0 ha), 95% fixed kernel home ranges (mean 2.6 ha), or 50% fixed kernel home ranges (mean 0.4 ha). Both sexes showed high site fidelity to annual home ranges and to previously used overwintering sites, although distance between subsequent overwintering sites was less for females than for males. At our study site, ornate box turtles have relatively small home ranges and exhibit strong site fidelity. Translocation programs for this species should closely monitor movements of translocated individuals to assess whether they are successfully establishing new home ranges or attempting to return to their site of origin. Moreover, the high site fidelity exhibited by this species suggests that newly translocated individuals may be at increased mortality risk because they are unfamiliar with suitable overwintering and/or nesting sites in their new location. The results of our study will be used to ensure that sites to which animals are translocated are comparable to the site of origin in terms of home range size requirements and important habitat features. In addition, our data serve as a critical baseline to which the habitat use and movement patterns of monitored animals posttranslocation can be directly compared to assess the success of the translocation. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. ABSTRACT. -The destruction of prairies has led to the decline of the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornate) across much of its range. Land management agencies are considering translocation programs to restore populations to areas from which they have been extirpated. For these conservation efforts to be successful, long-term posttranslocation monitoring is necessary to ensure that translocated individuals behave and use habitat similarly to unmanipulated individuals. We conducted a 3-yr radiotelemetry study of a potential source population of ornate box turtles to provide baseline data on home range size and site fidelity pretranslocation. Adult males and females did not differ in minimum convex polygon home range size (mean 4.0 ha), 95% fixed kernel home ranges (mean 2.6 ha), or 50% fixed kernel home ranges (mean 0.4 ha). Both sexes showed high site fidelity to annual home ranges...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

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Home Range and Site Fidelity of Imperiled Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) in Northwestern Illinois

Refsnider¹,

Strickland

Janzen³

2012

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

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“…However, we estimated that 334 person-hours, or approximately 33 of our surveys, would be required to detect even 30% of our study population. Because ornate box turtles are most active and, therefore, most detectable during May and June (e.g., Bernstein et al 2007), it would be difficult to conduct enough surveys within that time frame to adequately estimate population size. Similarly, because surveys conducted in July or August are unlikely to detect ornate box turtles at all, because the turtles become inactive during hot weather (Converse and Savidge 2003), surveys intended to demonstrate presence or absence of the species should also be conducted during May and June.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A generalized method to determine detectability of rare and cryptic species using the ornate box turtle as a model

Refsnider

Mitchell

Streby

et al. 2011

Wildlife Society Bulletin

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Estimates regarding population parameters are often based on data from surveys. To ensure that such estimates are as accurate as possible, it is important to know the detectability resulting from the particular survey method used. We used radiotelemetry to measure detectability of ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata), using visual-encounter surveys in a sand prairie in northwestern Illinois, USA. We found that the overall detection probability of visual-encounter surveys was 0.03, and our high frequency of nondetection was due to a failure to detect visible turtles rather than turtles being underground or hidden in dense vegetation. Despite the substantial population density at our study site, visual-encounter surveys failed to detect box turtles on most visits, which resulted in a prohibitively high number of surveys that would be required to accurately estimate population size or to infer absence of the species from a site. Our method of using radiotelemetry to measure detection probability of a survey method could be easily applied to other small, cryptic, or rare species. However, our low detection probability and high frequency of nondetections recommend against use of visual-encounter surveys alone in estimating population parameters for ornate box turtles. © 2011 The Wildlife Society. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. ABSTRACT Estimates regarding population parameters are often based on data from surveys. To ensure that such estimates are as accurate as possible, it is important to know the detectability resulting from the particular survey method used. We used radiotelemetry to measure detectability of ornate box turtles (Terrapene ornata), using visual-encounter surveys in a sand prairie in northwestern Illinois, USA. We found that the overall detection probability of visual-encounter surveys was 0.03, and our high frequency of nondetection was due to a failure to detect visible turtles rather than turtles being underground or hidden in dense vegetation. Despite the substantial population density at our study site, visual-encounter surveys failed to detect box turtles on most visits, which resulted in a prohibitively high number of surveys that would be required to accurately estimate population size or to infer absence of the species from a site. Our method of using radiotelemetry to measure detection probability of a survey method could be easily applied to other small, cryptic, or rare species. However, our low detection probability and high frequency of nondetections recommend against use of visual-encounter surveys alone in estimating population parameters for ornate box turtles. ß 2011 The Wildlife Society.

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“…2). However, studies by Bernstein et al (2007) indicated that ornate box turtles have a high degree of philopatry and that turtles do not travel between the 2 sites.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration, Gene Flow, and Genetic Diversity Within and Among Iowa Populations of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata)

Richtsmeier¹,

Bernstein

Demastes³

et al. 2008

Chelonian Conservation and Biology

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Home Range and Philopatry in the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata, in Iowa

Cited by 35 publications

References 16 publications

Home Range and Site Fidelity of Imperiled Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) in Northwestern Illinois

Home Range and Site Fidelity of Imperiled Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) in Northwestern Illinois

A generalized method to determine detectability of rare and cryptic species using the ornate box turtle as a model

Migration, Gene Flow, and Genetic Diversity Within and Among Iowa Populations of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata ornata)

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