Effects of Relocation on Movements and Home Ranges of Eastern Box Turtles
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Published source details
Hester J.M., Price S.J. & Dorcas M.E. (2008) Effects of Relocation on Movements and Home Ranges of Eastern Box Turtles. Journal of Wildlife Management, 72, 772-777.
Published source details Hester J.M., Price S.J. & Dorcas M.E. (2008) Effects of Relocation on Movements and Home Ranges of Eastern Box Turtles. Journal of Wildlife Management, 72, 772-777.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Translocate adult or juvenile reptiles: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles Action Link |
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Translocate adult or juvenile reptiles: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles
A controlled study in 2004–2005 in a mixed-forest site in North Carolina, USA (Hester et al. 2008) found that translocated eastern box turtles Terrapene carolina had lower survival than resident turtles. Fewer translocated turtles survived at least one year than residents (translocated: 5 of 10; resident: 10 of 10). Translocated turtles moved similar distances overall but had larger home ranges than residents in three of three measures (see paper for details). In May and June 2004, ten female turtles were translocated to randomly selected locations within the release site (1–38 km from their point of capture). Ten resident female turtles were also captured, and all turtles were fitted with radio transmitters (attached to shell). Turtles were radio-tracked every two to three days during active periods (May to October 2004; March to June 2005) and once/week during hibernation periods (October 2004 to March 2005) for one year post-release.
(Summarised by: Maggie Watson, William Morgan)
