Movements, Habitat Use, and Thermal Ecology of an Isolated Population of Bog Turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

Pittman, Shannon E.; Dorcas, Michael E.

doi:10.1643/ce-08-140

Cited by 32 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Terrapins in this study exhibited seasonal differences in activity patterns and habitat use (Harden and Williard, 2012;Akins et al, 2014) that are similar to patterns observed for other semi-aquatic turtle species at temperate latitudes (Grayson and Dorcas, 2004;Litzgus et al, 2004;Tuma, 2006;Harden et al, 2009;Pittman and Dorcas, 2009;Rowe and Dalgarn, 2009). The shift from quiescent burial to surface activity underlies the significant increase in terrapin body water flux observed post-dormancy.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Total body water and water turnover rates in the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) during the transition from dormancy to activity

Harden

Duernberger

Jones

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Water and salt concentrations in an animal's body fluids can fluctuate with changing environmental conditions, posing osmoregulatory challenges that require behavioral and physiological adjustments. The purpose of this study was to investigate body water dynamics in the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin), a species that undergoes seasonal dormancy in salt marsh habitats. We conducted a field study to determine the total body water (%TBW), water turnover rate (WTR) and daily water flux (DWF) of female terrapins in south eastern North Carolina pre-and post-emergence from winter dormancy. Terrapins were injected with [ 2 H]deuterium on two occasions and washout of the isotope was monitored by taking successive blood samples during the period of transition from dormancy to activity. The WTR and DWF of dormant terrapins were significantly lower than those of active terrapins (WTR dormant =49.70±15.94 ml day ). There was no significant difference in %TBW between dormant and active terrapins (75.05±6.19% and 74.54±4.36%, respectively). The results from this field study provide insight into the terrapin's ability to maintain osmotic homeostasis while experiencing shifts in behavioral and environmental conditions.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

Total body water and water turnover rates in the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) during the transition from dormancy to activity

Harden

Duernberger

Jones

et al. 2014

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The inferred decline is comparable to many published studies such as Heller et al The findings of this study suggest that efforts concentrating on increasing adult survival and recruitment within bog turtle populations and, where feasible, facilitating connectivity among disjointed populations may significantly increase the likelihood of persistence. Localized management efforts focusing on maintaining high quality habitat within bogs are crucial to increasing the viability of populations (Ernst et al 1989;Carter et al 1999;Morrow et al 2001b;Pittman and Dorcas 2009). As a result of the limited vagility of bog turtles and their dependence on disjointed habitat, it is unlikely that small, isolated bog turtle populations will persist without targeted human intervention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One of the male turtles captured in 2007 was found dead on 2 July 2007 after having spent 12 days away from the bog. Radiotelemetric data on this turtle suggested that the turtle died on railroad tracks dispersing from the bog through a fragmented landscape (Pittman and Dorcas 2009). One adult female turtle was killed by a predator in December, 2007 (Pittman and Dorcas 2009).…”

Section: Ncga Demographic Parametersmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Radiotelemetric data on this turtle suggested that the turtle died on railroad tracks dispersing from the bog through a fragmented landscape (Pittman and Dorcas 2009). One adult female turtle was killed by a predator in December, 2007 (Pittman and Dorcas 2009). Because of the exhaustive sampling effort at NCGA in 2007, along with the fact that we recaptured each adult turtle on multiple occasions within 2007, we believe that a complete census of the adult turtles at NCGA was attained (Table 1).…”

Section: Ncga Demographic Parametersmentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Demographic and genetic status of an isolated population of bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii): implications for managing small populations of long-lived animals

et al. 2011

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In this study, we sought to determine the population stability and genetic diversity of one isolated population of the federally-threatened bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) in North Carolina. Using capture-recapture data, we estimated adult survival and population growth rate from 1992 to 2007. We found that the population decreased from an estimated 36 adult turtles in 1994 to approximately 11 adult turtles in 2007. We found a constant adult survival of 0.893 (SE = 0.018, 95% confidence interval, 0.853-0.924) between 1992 and 2007. Using 18 microsatellite markers, we compared the genetic status of this population with five other bog turtle populations. The target population displayed allelic richness (4.8 ± 0.5) and observed heterozygosity (0.619 ± 0.064) within the range of the other bog turtle populations. Coalescent analysis of population growth rate, effective population size, and timing of population structuring event also indicated the genetics of the target population were comparable to the other populations studied. Estimates of effective population size were a proportion of the census size in all populations except the target population, in which the effective population size was larger than the census size (30 turtles vs. 11 turtles). We attribute the high genetic diversity in the target population to the presence of multiple generations of old turtles. This study illustrates that the demographic status of populations of long-lived species may not be reflected genetically if a decline occurred recently. Consequently, the genetic integrity of populations of long-lived animals experiencing rapid demographic bottlenecks may be preserved through conservation efforts effective in addressing demographic problems.

show abstract

“…Efforts to meet these biological requirements should be reflected in the turtle's home range and movement patterns and should be correlated with lifetime reproductive success. Environmental factors including temperature, daily rainfall, and drought may influence movements and home range (Feaga 2010, Pittman andDorcas 2009). Bog Turtles must be able to meet their biological requirements in a relatively small area because most wetlands containing Bog Turtles are <2 ha in extent (Lee and Norden 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement, Seasonal Activity, and Home Range of an Isolated Population ofGlyptemys muhlenbergii, Bog Turtle, in the Southern Appalachians

Smith¹,

Cherry²

2016

Southeastern Naturalist

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Movements, Habitat Use, and Thermal Ecology of an Isolated Population of Bog Turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)

Cited by 32 publications

References 49 publications

Total body water and water turnover rates in the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) during the transition from dormancy to activity

Total body water and water turnover rates in the estuarine diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) during the transition from dormancy to activity

Demographic and genetic status of an isolated population of bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii): implications for managing small populations of long-lived animals

Movement, Seasonal Activity, and Home Range of an Isolated Population ofGlyptemys muhlenbergii, Bog Turtle, in the Southern Appalachians

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About