Microhabitat Selection by Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene c. carolina) in a North Carolina Mountain Wetland

Rossell, C. Reed; Rossell, Irene M.; Patch, Steven C.

doi:10.1670/236-05n.1

Cited by 16 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…Baskett turtles may have used forest edges and south-facing aspects to maintain their body temperature above ambient conditions, whereas Prairie Fork turtles may have used forests and north-facing aspects to maintain a body temperature at or below ambient conditions. Rossell et al (2006) reported no difference in substrate or air temperature between box turtle locations and paired random locations within 25 m of the turtle. Our results indicate that box turtles may thermoregulate by use of habitat type and aspect in addition to specific locations within habitat types (e.g., microclimate) as in Rossell et al (2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Rossell et al (2006) reported no difference in substrate or air temperature between box turtle locations and paired random locations within 25 m of the turtle. Our results indicate that box turtles may thermoregulate by use of habitat type and aspect in addition to specific locations within habitat types (e.g., microclimate) as in Rossell et al (2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…The Water and Habitat Type model contained distance to water and habitat type variables (Table 1). Rossell et al (2006) associated box turtle microhabitat selection with thermoregulation and minimizing water loss. Box turtles will move towards and use temporary ponds during periods of high temperatures and low precipitation, presumably to mitigate water loss (Donaldson and Echternacht 2005).…”

Section: Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource Selection by Translocated Three‐Toed Box Turtles in Missouri

et al. 2008

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Resource selection is a multi‐staged process of behavioral responses to various resource cues or stimuli. Previous research suggests some aspects of resource selection may be inherent (i.e., genetic predisposition) or based on early experience and that individuals respond to certain resource cues but not to others. In other words, resource selection may be based on a template that specifies which cues to use in the resource‐selection process and the appropriate response to those cues. We used resource utilization functions (RUFs) to examine the resource‐selection template of translocated three‐toed box turtles (Terrapene carolina triunguis; hereafter turtles) and made comparisons to resident turtles. Translocated turtles, previously residents of a predominantly forested landscape with low edge‐density, used forest openings, forest edges, and southwest‐facing slopes before and after translocation to a fragmented site containing resident turtles. In contrast, resident turtles used forested areas and northeast‐facing slopes within a predominantly open landscape with high edge‐density. Our comparison of resource selection by translocated and resident turtles revealed population‐specific resource selection and consistency in selection following translocation, which reinforces the idea of a resource‐selection template and suggests that in the short‐term box turtles may not adapt their predisposed behavior to local conditions. Thus, translocated animals may evaluate and respond to resource cues as if they were at the original site. Lack of site fidelity may result from individuals seeking additional resources to match their resource‐selection template. Successful translocation of turtles may require an assessment of resource selection prior to translocation and development of management strategies that mitigate turtle response to translocation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Model Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource Selection by Translocated Three‐Toed Box Turtles in Missouri

et al. 2008

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“…Moreover, our estimates not only include mortality from direct interactions with fire (n = 2 in our study), but also indirect or delayed responses resulting from injury, the stress and dangers of forced displacement from typical activity areas, or as individuals contend with changes to the structure and microclimate of environments that could impact habitat quality. For instance, fire temporarily reduces or removes understory vegetation, leaf litter, and other surface debris (Iverson and Hutchinson 2002, Greenberg and Waldrop 2008, Hossack et al 2009, all of which serve as important microsites for T. carolina (Rossell et al 2006, Roe et al 2017 and other terrestrial turtles (Lagarde et al 2012, Attum et al 2013. Fire may also affect the availability of preferred food items for T. carolina such as mushrooms, litter and soil invertebrates, and fruits (Dodd 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Responses of a forest-dwelling terrestrial turtle, Terrapene carolina, to prescribed fire in a Longleaf Pine ecosystem

Roe

Wild

Chavez

2019

Forest Ecology and Management

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Prescribed fire is commonly used as a tool to meet a range of forest management goals. Owing to their limited movement abilities, terrestrial turtles are likely to be at high risk of injury and mortality, and to experience other fitness consequences with population-level implications from fire. Using radiotelemetry, we studied the responses of Eastern Box Turtles, Terrapene carolina carolina, to prescribed fire management in a sandhills Longleaf Pine forest system over a five-year period and compared our results to a nearby population in an unburned coastal plain location. Individual variation in turtle survival was strongly dependent on how frequently and extensively the areas were burned, with annual survival rates of 94.5% in unburned areas decreasing to 45.9 % in the most extensively burned areas. Turtles at the fire-maintained sandhills site had annual survival rates 4.9 % less than at the unburned coastal plain site, and females had annual survival rates 6.8 % less than males. Survival varied seasonally, with greatest mortality rates in winter and spring, especially among females. Growth rates and body condition did not differ between sites, nor did they vary according to fire extent and frequency at the fire-maintained site. Although mortality was greater and spatially variable at the fire-maintained site, annual survival rates across the site (86-90 % for females and males, respectively) were comparable to other stable populations of T. carolina. The lesser than expected mortality rate at the fire-maintained site was likely the result of turtles' strong selection of mesic hardwood forests near bottomlands and streams-habitats that may serve as refugia from fire. In areas where T. carolina conservation is a priority, land managers should integrate maintenance of fire refuge habitats into burn planning to minimize unintended negative impacts to this imperiled species.

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“…Moreover, habitat associations and other behaviors could be affected by the direct risks imposed by fire, as T. carolina can suffer injury and mortality from burns (Babbitt and Babbitt, 1951; Platt et al, 2010), as well as decreased body condition following fire (Howey and Roosenburg, 2013). Fire could also indirectly affect habitat use behavior by altering understory vegetation structure, hydric conditions, or food availability (Rossell et al, 2006; Platt et al, 2009; Greenspan et al, 2015). It is clear that as fire becomes a more popular tool for habitat management, much more research is required to understand the responses of T. carolina and other terrestrial ectotherms to both wild and prescribed fires.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal biology of eastern box turtles in a longleaf pine system managed with prescribed fire

Roe

Wild

Hall

2017

Journal of Thermal Biology

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Fire can influence the microclimate of forest habitats by removing understory vegetation and surface debris. Temperature is often higher in recently burned forests owing to increased light penetration through the open understory. Because physiological processes are sensitive to temperature in ectotherms, we expected fire-maintained forests to improve the suitability of the thermal environment for turtles, and for turtles to seasonally associate with the most thermally-optimal habitats. Using a laboratory thermal gradient, we determined the thermal preference range (Tset) of eastern box turtles, Terrapene carolina, to be 27 – 31 °C. Physical models simulating the body temperatures experienced by turtles in the field revealed that surface environments in a fire-maintained longleaf pine forest were 3 °C warmer than adjacent unburned mixed hardwood/pine forests, but the fire-maintained forest was never of superior thermal quality owing to wider Te fluctuations above Tset and exposure to extreme and potentially lethal temperatures. Radiotracked turtles using fire-managed longleaf pine forests maintained shell temperatures (Ts) approximately 2 °C above those at a nearby unburned forest, but we observed only moderate seasonal changes in habitat use which were inconsistent with thermoregulatory behavior. We conclude that turtles were not responding strongly to the thermal heterogeneity generated by fire in our system, and that other aspects of the environment are likely more important in shaping habitat associations.

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Microhabitat Selection by Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene c. carolina) in a North Carolina Mountain Wetland

Cited by 16 publications

References 3 publications

Resource Selection by Translocated Three‐Toed Box Turtles in Missouri

Resource Selection by Translocated Three‐Toed Box Turtles in Missouri

Responses of a forest-dwelling terrestrial turtle, Terrapene carolina, to prescribed fire in a Longleaf Pine ecosystem

Thermal biology of eastern box turtles in a longleaf pine system managed with prescribed fire

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