Abstracts
Presentations
Epidemiology and Treatment of Ranaviral Disease in North American
Chelonians
Matthew Allender,1,3 Mark A. Mitchell,1 and
Sherry Cox2
1Department
of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
2Department
of Comparative Medicine, University
of
Tennessee, Knoxville, TN
3mcallend@illinois.edu
Ranaviruses have been proposed as a major threat to amphibian
biodiversity, and the impact of these pathogens on reptiles is less
well understood. A quantitative PCR was developed using TaqMan that
was 100% efficient in detecting the major capsid protein of frog
virus 3 (FV3) in turtle samples. The overall prevalence of
Ranaviruses in a study of 606 Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina
carolina) across the SE US
was 1.3%, with a non-significantly higher prevalence in juveniles
than adults. The low prevalence found in this population supports
the theory that this virus is associated with acute disease/death.
Subsequently, red-eared sliders (Trachemys
scripta elegans) were challenged with FV3 and demonstrated
higher mortality rates when maintained at 22°C
than at 28°C, supporting the theory that this virus is less virulent at higher
temperatures. FV3 DNA was detected in whole blood, oral swabs, and
cloacal swabs. The sensitivity and specificity of detection in both
whole blood samples and cloacal swabs when compared to necropsy was
100%, while the sensitivity and specificity in oral swabs was found
to be 83% and 100%, respectively. Clinical signs observed in
experimentally infected red-eared sliders included lethargy,
conjunctivitis, oral plaques, oral ulcers, and injection site
swelling, while those in box turtles were fractures and diarrhea.
Treatment of ranavirus with anti-viral therapy has been reported to
have variably poor success, but was based on anecdotal dosing
recommendations. Pharmacokinetic analysis in box turtles of a single
oral dose of valcyclovir demonstrated measureable levels, and may
prove useful against this virus.
Development of a Health Screening Protocol and Incorporating it into
an Existing Field Project
Matthew Allender
Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Illinois,
Urbana, IL
mcallend@illinois.edu
Outbreaks and potential population declines due to disease or health
related factors have been increasingly reported. The cause and
progression of many of these diseases are unknown and relate to the
lack of baseline knowledge of populations. Therefore, collecting
baseline information on routine health parameters might be critical
to identifying emerging threats and response to disease outbreaks.
Several diagnostic modalities are available and might be quite
confusing. A brief overview and interpretation of hematology, plasma
biochemistries, disease epidemiology, serology, protein
electrophoresis, and toxicology will be presented.
Survivorship and Home Range of Head-started Juvenile Eastern Box
Turtles
Kimberly M. Andrews1,2,3, Joseph E. Colbert1, and Terry M.
Norton1
1Jekyll
Island
Authority
Georgia
Sea
Turtle
Center, Jekyll Island,
GA
2University
of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory,
Aiken,
SC
3kandrews@jekyllisland.com
Urbanization is increasing rapidly resulting in growing rates of
human-wildlife interactions that are detrimental to native animals.
Eastern box turtles, Terrapene carolina, are a priority
example of species experiencing declines throughout their range.
Effects from habitat loss, road mortality, injury by domestic pets,
collection for the pet trade, and reduced health in wild populations
have all been documented. Displaced, injured, and deceased animals
are periodically admitted to the Jekyll Island State Park
Authority’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) on Jekyll Island, GA.
Eggs are recovered from injured and freshly-dead females and
subsequently incubated in the hospital. Additionally, individuals
that cannot be rehabilitated to the point of wild release are placed
in our outdoor educational display where they reproduce with other
captive adults. Eggs are allowed to incubate in situ in the display.
Hatchlings are head-started at the GSTC until their second year and
at least 130 grams in order to reduce the risk of predation upon
release into the wild. Using health assessment and radio telemetry
methodologies, we evaluate survivorship, growth, habitat use, and
movement patterns in the wild. This assessment can be used to guide
future rehabilitation and management priorities in determining
whether head-started individuals can contribute to the viability of
local populations and therefore, whether head-starting is an
appropriate and responsible technology in these situations. To date,
all nine juveniles have survived and continue to exhibit positive
growth rates. Home range sizes are 2.49 ha on average but
substantial intraspecific variation has been observed.
We will additionally present future direction in research on
Jekyll’s resident box turtle population and the continued monitoring
of head-started juveniles.
Rural Box Turtles in Missouri Have Bigger Home Ranges and Lower
Corticosterone Levels Than Urban Ones
Stephen Blake1,2,7, Corinne Kozlowski3,
Jenny Fung4, Joanna Wang5, Sharon L. Deem6
1 Max
Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell,
Radolfzell,
Germany
2Current Address: Whitney R. Harris World
Ecology Center, Washington
University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO
3Research Dept., St. Louis Zoo,
St. Louis, MO
4Biology Program, Washington
University in St.
Louis, St. Louis,
MO
5Environmental Biology Program,
Washington
University in St.
Louis, St. Louis,
MO
6Institute for Conservation Medicine, St.
Louis Zoo, St.
Louis,
MO
7sblakewcs@gmail.com
Box turtles were once ubiquitous through much of the eastern and
central United States,
but are now in steep decline due to a combination of habitat loss
and fragmentation, road kill, disease and the live turtle trade for
food and pets. Despite Archie Carr’s assertion that “everyone likes
box turtles”, lack of understanding of these threats means that the
public remains largely unaware of this conservation crisis. Since 1)
populations of box turtles can occur close to urban centers, and 2)
there is an urgent need for better data on trends in ranging,
health, and demography of box turtles in relation to human
activities, an opportunity exists to combine research, management
and hands-on outreach in a unified conservation framework.
In 2012 we initiated a pilot project in
St. Louis, Missouri,
to quantify home range size and health status of box turtle
populations in urban and rural conditions, generate a meaningful
local outreach program, and assess the options for developing a long
term conservation initiative. The project took place in
Forest Park, in St. Louis
city, and the Tyson
Research
Center, a rural site some 20km from the
city limits. Forest Park is a 556ha mosaic of woodland
fragments embedded in a traditional city parkscape of golf courses,
playing fields, lakes, and other recreation areas traversed by roads
and bike trails. Tyson
Research
Center is an 809ha fenced,
protected oak-hickory forest block bisected by one tarmacked road
and a network of tracks. We fitted VHF tags to ten adult turtles at
each site and regularly recorded their locations using GPS through
the summer until brumation. We completed biophysical exams and took
blood samples from tagged individuals and a further 63 turtles at
the two sites.
The mean home range (MCP) of urban turtles (
was
two orders of magnitude smaller than that of rural turtles (
.
The mean blood corticosterone level of urban turtles
was
over twice that of rural turtles
.
We currently have no causal explanations for these results, though
likely reasons include that the small forest fragments of Forest Park may limit turtle movements
compared to the larger rural habitat which increases physiological
stress. Moreover, the heavy human use of
Forest Park
may lead to high levels of disturbance for these urban turtles.
Outreach activities included introducing several groups of local
school children to the turtles of
Forest Park, and integrating undergraduates
and high school students as part time research technicians. The
level of interest and enthusiasm of all participants was extremely
high, and resulted in a series of posters, promotional videos, and
other outreach products.
Our pilot study revealed that 1) while large urban parks can support
box turtle populations, their ecology and health may be compromised
compared to rural populations, and that 2) studies of urban box
turtle populations and those close to large cities and towns provide
exciting opportunities for outreach to local people with potentially
high conservation and societal impacts.
Box Turtles: Connecting People to Nature
Kimberly Burge
NC Wildlife Resources Commission,
Centennial
Campus
Center for Wildlife Education, Raleigh, NC
kimberly.burge@ncwildlife.org
The Centennial Campus
Center for Wildlife Education is
located in Raleigh, N.C., and is the piedmont region education
center run by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. Since July
2007 our program participants have been using radio telemetry to
track and monitor a population of wild box turtles in Lake Raleigh
Woods, a 90 + acre forest on North Carolina State University’s
Centennial Campus. We became the first monitoring study site for the
North Carolina Box Turtle Collaborative’s long term box turtle
mark-recapture project started in 2008. We have incorporated the
radio telemetry, mark-recapture studies, and mark-recapture studies
with turtle tracking dogs in our regular programing at our education
center with great success. Our audience is a very urban population
with some fears associated with woodland exploration. Box turtles
are charismatic and usually well liked which makes them excellent
ambassadors during our outdoor program. The box turtles provide a
connection with nature and at the same time offer the opportunity
for real-life data collection, citizen science projects, and
hands-on technology use. This presentation will go over our project
history, how we have integrated the research into our educational
programming, challenges and obstacles we’ve encountered along the
way, and also the benefits and rewards.
Identifying Layers of Opportunity: How Box Turtles Can Help Promote
Partnerships Which Include Foresters, Researchers, Developers,
Educators, Conservationists, and the General Public.
John Byrd1, the CRESO Research Team, and the
CRESO Education/Research Team
Clinch River Environmental Studies Organization (CRESO),
Clinton,
TN
1creso@acs.ac
As we exited our 11ha timber harvest study site, we were sternly,
but politely, confronted by the developer of the subdivision
adjacent to the harvest zone. He shared with us his displeasure on
the difficulty of selling houses located next to an unsightly “mess
of cut trees.” So there we stood at the boundary of two heavily
impacted landscapes – on one site, trees would return through a slow
successional process, while on the other, trees would be rapidly
transformed into houses. We were struck by the fact that our Box
Turtle study and its focus on research questions (survivorship,
movement patterns etc.) had narrowed our thinking and resulted in
overlooking important educational and partnership possibilities. It
is not uncommon for government agencies to provide stakeholders a
format for discussion. Unfortunately, the reality of this input
design is often politically motivated. Providing “layers of
opportunity” for stakeholders – landowners, developers, researchers,
foresters, educators, etc. –impacted by forestry or development
practices requires recognition of what the potential wins are for
all parties. Ideas for using Box Turtles –the poster critter of
forest and field–to develop partnerships, and promote positive
landscape options and educational strategies will be presented.
Current Status of the Box Turtle
Terrapene coahuila in the
Wetlands of Cuatrocienegas Coahuila
Juan Gamaliel Castañeda Gaytán1,3,
Jorge E. Becerra López2, Alejandra Cueto Mares1, Sara Valenzuela
Ceballos1 and Ivonne Salas Westphal1
1Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas,
Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango, Durango, Mexico
2Laboratorio de Sistemática Molecular del Centro de
Investigaciones Biológicas Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo,
Hildago, Mexico
3gamaliel.cg@gmail.com
The box turtle (Terrapene
coahuila) is the flagship species of the conservation area,
Cuatrocienegas, Coahuila. Its importance is that it is one of the
most charismatic semi-aquatic vertebrates of the valley that are
basis of numerous conservation efforts due to their association with
water bodies. Thus, it is considered a potential species to assess
the health of wetlands and therefore identify whether conservation
practices are effective today. As part of compliance with the
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) the Mexican
government has invested resources to meet the current situation of
the box turtle and then implement a simple method to maintain a
constant monitoring of the populations of this seriously threatened
and endangered species. From June 2010 to May 2011, we assessed an
area of 30 hectares 4 or 5 days per month. In addition, we selected
143 sites distributed throughout the valley to search for live
turtles or traces of turtle and evaluate their potential
distribution using ecological niche models (MAXENT). For sites where
live specimens were observed, data were taken as to the type of
microhabitat and water (if observed within the pools). All specimens
were marked with notches in the shell. The general analysis of the
population describes the proportion of individuals recorded per unit
area, the proportion of age classes, sex and habitat use.
Additionally, radio tags were placed on the carapace of 14 male and
female T. coahuila to assess the areas of activity during two different
periods of the years 2011 and 2012. Preliminary results point out
that the species is found in wetlands in the valley with a high
degree of fragmentation. There is a high probability of box turtles
occurring within an area of 1.5 km sq. (intensive sampling site).
Over a larger area of slightly greater than 7 km sq, the probability
of box turtles occurring drops to 51%. Within the intensive sampling
site, we collected approximately 95 individuals during the first
year of study with a sex ratio male: female 1:0.53. Extrapolating
the abundance of individuals per unit area of search yielded an
approximate abundance of 3.16 ind / ha, which is a very
small population for the entire valley (potentially 461 to 2268
turtles). In most cases, turtles were observed in wetlands with a
depth less than 50 cm. In the case of individuals observed on land,
most were located near plants of the genus
Eleocharis,
Scirpus, and
Distichlis (species associated with permanent water film). The
months with the greatest possibility of seeing active turtles were
recorded. Area of activity, has been estimated at 3 hectares for
females and 5 hectares for males. These findings suggest a use of
space that is higher than previously reported by Brown (1968) for
this species. We are currently developing a monitoring program based
on information obtained during the last two years of study and which
will provide answers to major questions about why and where we
should sample the box turtle population in the Valley of Cuatrocienegas
to encourage its conservation
Impact of Railroad Tracks on Box Turtles (and Other Species of
Turtles)
Christian A. d’Orgeix1,2,5, J.C. Mitchell3,
and T. Laxson4
1National
Evolutionary Synthesis Center,
Durham,
NC
2Current
address: Department of Biology, Virginia State University,
Petersburg, VA
3Mitchell
Ecological Research Service, LLC,
High Springs, FL
4USGS
Gap Analysis Program,
Moscow,
ID
5cdorgeix@vsu.edu
Railroads represent the largest terrestrial transportation
infrastructure system in the U.S.,
after roads. Reports of railroad track impacts on turtles are mainly
anecdotal, e.g., posing as barriers to seasonal movement between
habitats, interfering with female nest site selection, and mortality
of turtles trapped between the rails. We conducted weekly turtle
censuses May - August 2005 and May - November 2006 using two 1.65 km
sections of railroad track in Prince George County, Virginia to
address the following questions: (1) What percentage of turtles
encountered were box turtles? (2) Do railroad tracks contribute to
box turtle mortality? (3) Are differences in sex accurate predictors
of which turtles will be impacted by railroad tracks? (4) How do box
turtles become trapped between the tracks? In addition, as a first
step in accessing the potential global impacts of railroad tracks on
turtles and the broad conservation problems associated with this
transportation system, we used Geographic Information System (GIS)
data to estimate how many turtles might be impacted by railroad
tracks in the State of Virginia, USA
over a similar period to our study. We found 38 turtles comprising
seven species with eastern box turtles,
Terrapene
carolina
carolina, composing 58% of all turtles
encountered. Approximately equal numbers of turtles were found
between the tracks and on the outside of the tracks, however, the
mortality rate was 83% for turtles found between the tracks. There
were no significant differences between male and female sex ratios
in T. c.
carolina. For turtles to access to our
census area, tracks through railroad crossings would require moving
1-2.5 km distance, suggesting that the two primary means of
accessing railroad tracks were climbing over the rails or passing
under the rails through gaps. We estimate
that thousands of turtles would suffer mortality or interference
with movement to nesting sites or seasonal habitat shifts along
Virginia's 7,450 km of railroad tracks.
Home Range, Habitat Use, and Mortality of Hatchling and Juvenile
Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene
ornata ornata) in Iowa
Rachel Hannah Fendrich
Cornell College,
Mount Vernon, IA
rfendrich13@cornellcollege.edu
The ornate box turtle,
Terrapene ornata ornata, is threatened in
Iowa, as the species’ prairie habitat has
mostly been converted into agricultural land, reducing and
fragmenting natural habitat, increasing contact with motor vehicles,
farm implements, and most likely with mesopredators like raccoons,
which thrive around humans and edge habitats. Our long-term project
strives to understand the ecology and natural history of the second
largest population of T.
ornata in Iowa and provide information to management
agencies to help develop conservation plans for this species.
Perhaps the largest gap in our knowledge of ornate box turtles
pertains to the biology of juveniles or hatchlings, as they are both
uncommon and secretive. With the advent of miniature radio telemetry
transmitters, we have begun monitoring hatchling and juvenile
turtles to obtain data on home range, habitat, and microhabitat. I
will discuss the results from our first two years of efforts at
tracking hatchlings and juveniles. We tracked 19 adult turtles, 12
hatchling turtles, and 9 juvenile turtles in the Hawkeye Wildlife
Area in Johnson County,
Iowa, during the summers of 2011 and 2012
using radio telemetry. We recorded each turtle’s GPS coordinates
daily and calculated their home ranges using 95% fixed kernels and
minimum convex polygons. In addition, we gathered data on mortality,
habitat, and microhabitat used by these turtles.
Mean adult weekly and monthly home ranges were consistently larger
than weekly and monthly juvenile and hatchling home ranges. Juvenile
home ranges were not significantly different than hatchling home ranges.
Habitat and microhabitat preferences varied based on age. Juveniles
were far more likely than either adults or hatchlings to be found in
a forest habitat, while hatchlings were more likely to be found in
prairie. No age group spent more time in agricultural fields, even
though the nesting area was within 100 meters of agriculture.
Hatchlings were far more likely to be found buried than were
juveniles or adults. While our sample remains small in both number
of individuals and duration of individual observations for
hatchlings, it appears that compared to older turtles, hatchlings
have smaller home ranges and use fewer different habitat types. This
may simply reflect reduced movement compared to older turtles. If
they do not move far from the nesting site in the first month after
emerging, they will encounter mostly prairie habitat. The reduced
movement may reflect simple size scaling of movements or a greater
need to remain underground to avoid predators or high daytime
temperatures.
During 2011, one hatchling died from human causes; during the summer
of 2012, all seven of our hatchlings were preyed upon within two
months of the time we began tracking them. While it remains unclear
whether predation on nests, hatchlings and juveniles is artificially
high at our site, predation on early life stages is substantial; our
data suggest that the nesting site and the immediate surrounding
area might be an appropriate and cost-effective focus for
conservation measures.
A Population Study of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene
carolina) in the Piedmont of North Carolina
John D. Groves1 and Jessica Foti
North
Carolina
Zoological Park, Asheboro, NC
1John.groves@nczoo.org
Population studies are important to understanding the dynamics of
declining Box Turtle populations throughout their range, yet few
recent long- term studies are available for comparison in different
parts of this turtle’s extensive historical distribution throughout North America. In order to contribute population
information on a basically undisturbed protected population in the
Piedmont of North Carolina we conducted a mark/recapture study from
2002 - 2011 to establish baseline information. A total of 503
turtles were captured and marked and 51% of these turtles were
recaptured between one and three times during the study period. We
examined meristic characters, body condition, color patterns,
activity patterns, and population structure. Some information on
reproduction and mortality in this population will be discussed.
Turtles in this population are active during all seasons with normal
activity patterns between April and November. Activity patterns
appear to be similar between males and females, with the height of
activity in the summer months. More turtle activity is correlated
with some rain activity within a 48 hr. period. Approximately one
third of the population was active when no rain event occurred and
two-thirds were active during rain events. Box Turtles are more
active between 21-32 º C. Box Turtles are active throughout daylight
hours during their active periods. Most turtles are found between
0800 until 1500 each day of activity. There is a steady decline of
Box Turtles activity in the afternoon. Population size is estimated
to be between 800-1000 turtles on 500 acres. Density of this
population is approximately 1 turtle per acre. Age structure between
the sexes appears to be similar for this population of Box turtles.
Age estimates are between hatchlings and 50 years of age, with the
majority of the population between 10-30 years. Home range of
several turtles were investigated by radio telemetry. Home range
sizes ranged from one acre in a disturbed area to 11 acres in an
undisturbed area. This population had very few health concerns, with
shell damage by predators being the most important concern.
Information gained from this baseline study should be repeated
periodically in the future to monitor trends and health of this
population.
Experimental Challenge Study of
Ranavirus Infection in
Previously Infected Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) to Assess Immunity
Jennifer C. Hausmann1,8, Allison N. Wack1,
Matthew C. Allender2, Michael R. Cranfield1,
Kevin J. Murphy3, Kevin Barrett4, Jennell L.
Romero5, James F. Wellehan6,
Chris Zink7, and Ellen
Bronson1
1Medical
Department,
The
Maryland
Zoo in Baltimore, Baltimore,
MD
2Department
of Comparative Biosciences, University
of Illinois,
Urbana,
IL
3Animal
Department, The Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, PA
4Animal
Department, The Maryland Zoo in
Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
5Comparative
Pathology, School of Medicine,
Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore, MD
6Zoological
Medicine Service, University
of Florida
College
of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL
7Comparative
Medicine Retrovirus Bio Laboratory, School
of Medicine,
Johns
Hopkins
University,
Baltimore, MD
8Jennifer.Hausmann@marylandzoo.org
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
lost 13 of 27 captive Eastern box turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina) to an outbreak of
Ranavirus (100% homology
to 531 bp segment of FV3 MCP) during the summer of 2011. To assess
survival and shedding post-infection, an experimental challenge
study was performed, in which the surviving, previously infected
turtles were re-infected with the outbreak strain of
Ranavirus that was
harvested in terrapene heart cell lines (TH-1). Seven turtles were
inoculated with a predetermined dose of infectious virus IM and four
control turtles were injected with an equal volume of saline IM. The
turtles were monitored for 9 weeks with blood and oral swabs
collected for PCR and antibody testing. During that time only one of
the seven (14.3%) inoculated turtles and none of the controls (0%)
died; there was no significant difference in survival. All clinical
signs seen in the inoculated turtles, except for the turtle that
died, were very mild (lethargy, weight loss, oral ulcers, sublingual
swelling, skin excoriations, ocular discharge and periocular
swelling) when compared to the severe clinical signs shown by these
turtles during the previous outbreak. The inoculated turtle that
died showed intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the kidney, lungs,
pancreas, liver, and vas deferens; vasculitis in the spleen,
pancreas, lungs, and liver; nephritis; pnuemonia; esophagitis;
hepatitis; and enteritis. Five of the surviving ten turtles were
euthanized at the end of the study for histopathology and PCR
testing. The remaining five turtles began normal brumation.
Landscape Use and Movement of Three-toed Box Turtles
(Terrapene carolina
triunguis)
During Drought Conditions
Lynne W. Hooper1 and Dylan C. Kesler
Department of Fisheries and
Wildlife Sciences,
University of
Missouri,
Columbia,
MO
1lwh356@mail.missouri.edu
Adult Three-toed box turtles (Terrapene
carolina
triunguis) were captured in Thomas S. Baskett Wildlife Research
and Education Area, in
Boone County,
Missouri. The variable topography
of the study area includes a floodplain of Brushy Creek bounded by a
steep rock cliff on the south and a series of ridges to the north.
Turtles were captured for study during visual surveys, and weighed,
measured, sexed, and fitted with radio telemetry transmitters and
temperature loggers. Temperature loggers were also distributed
throughout the study area to measure ambient conditions. Four female
and 6 male turtles were tracked daily for 30 days, beginning on 2
July 2012. Average regional temperatures during the month of July
were the highest on record, exceeding the normal value by 4.5°C, and precipitation for July was
8.61 cm below normal. We used generalized linear mixed models to
evaluate relationships between turtle temperatures, movement rates,
the position of the turtle on the landscape, and ambient climate
conditions. Results indicated that turtles were cooler than nearby
ambient conditions (P < 0.0001), and that daily fluctuation in turtle temperatures was
less than fluctuation in ambient temperatures (P < 0.0001). Results further illustrated a positive relationship
between daily low relative humidity and the distance of study
subjects to a nearby ephemeral stream (P
= 0.0336). Further, the daily rate of movement (m/d) was
positively associated with ambient relative humidity and negatively
associated with daily mean ambient temperature (P
< 0.0001 for both). We found no association between the
elevation of turtles and temperature or humidity, and there was no
difference in the movement rates of males and females. Movement
rates, turtle temperatures, and proximity to the ephemeral stream
were all associated with climate conditions, which supports previous
findings that turtles use behavioral mechanisms to actively manage
internal thermal conditions. Even during climatic conditions of high
temperatures and drought, Three-toed box turtles were able to
maintain lower temperatures and avoid evaporative water loss.
Rangewide Population Genetics of the Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene c. carolina
Kimble, Steven J.A.1,3, O.E. Rhodes Jr2, and
Rod N. Williams1
1Department
of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, West
Lafayette, IN
2Savannah
River Ecology Laboratory, Aiken, SC
3skimble@purdue.edu
The eastern box turtle
Terrapene c. carolina is experiencing population declines across
its range. The genetic consequences of such declines vary
considerably, especially in long-lived taxa such as Testudines. For
example, declines in census numbers may reduce the genetic diversity
available for a species to evolve responses to novel challenges such
as climate change or emerging diseases. Genetic considerations are
also paramount in designing conservation management practices such
as head starting or transplantation. To address these gaps in
knowledge we collected samples from approximately 1550 individuals
from the full range of the species and genotyped them at eleven
highly polymorphic microsatellite loci. Genetic diversity is high
(mean observed heterozygosity = 0.756) and our data suggested the
species is defined by two genetic populations. We sampled intensely
(n ≈ 600) within two contiguous state forests in Indiana and found
that mean pairwise relatedness among individuals was low (mean
relatedness = 0.002), suggesting high dispersal in this species and
low chance of inbreeding depression. The low level of population
structure also suggests high gene flow, a surprising result in light
of multiple studies demonstrating low vagility among most adults.
These conclusions should be interpreted cautiously, however, as the
genetic signatures observed may be biased by sampling of mainly
adults, and may therefore represent a historical signal rather than
contemporary genetic processes.
Ornate Box Turtles in the Sand Hills of Colorado: Population
Structure and Behavioral Ecology
Ann-Elizabeth Nash1,5, Caitlin
Wilhelm2, Graham Dawson3, and Jason F. Martin4
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado,
Boulder, CO
2
Department of Biology, Missouri
State
University,
Springfield, MO
3Department of Biology, Skidmore
College, Saratoga Springs, NY
4Zoology Program, Colorado State University, Ft Collins, CO
5aenash@gmail.com
For the past 6 years, beginning in 2007,
the Colorado Box Turtle Project (CoBTP) has studied a population of
Terrapene ornata ornata on
~50 hectares of sand hills habitat on the Eastern Plains of Colorado. The site is a human disturbed
cattle ranch with numerous gas wells, all of which were
hydraulically fractured in 2011. At least 160 turtles use the site
(density = 3.18 turtles/ha) consisting of 44% females, 35% males,
and 21% juveniles with the population skewed in favor of females. A
shell damage scale was created, with females experiencing 22% less
shell damage than males. Plant surveys were conducted identifying
more than 100 species with two internal sites compared using the
Jaccard diversity index.
Since
2010, 10 box turtles (6 females and 4 males) have been tracked with
radio telemetry, located three times per week from mid-May through
August, and intermittently from September through December. GPS
locations were recorded to show turtle movements and understand home
range size. Ambient temperature and humidity loggers were used in
2011 to determine preferred ranges of turtles at this site. Most
turtles are active mid-April through mid-September depending on
rainfall, spending the winter hibernating underground, primarily
using rodent burrows. Tracking data reveals high site fidelity to
hibernacula location as well as preferred locations during summer
months. Females move to preferred nesting locations and return to
favored foraging/living areas; hibernacula sites are usually a third
different location. Dietary items include various beetles,
White-lined sphinx (Hyles
lineata) larva, cactus (Opuntia
spp.), prairie fameflower (Talinum
parviflorum), and spiderwort (Tradescantia
occidentalis). In contrast to the Nebraska
sand hills at
Crescent Lake National
Wildlife Refuge, Colorado
T. o. ornata habitat is
waterless, making plants the likely hydration source for turtles.
Since the State of Colorado presently allows the private take of
ornate turtles for personal use, the Colorado Box Turtle Project
established goals of analyzing the regional ecology of this species
and enhancing its protections. This study contributes to the
knowledge of a widespread and once-common species, never studied
before in Colorado.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center: Connecting Eastern Box Turtle
Rehabilitation, Population Health and Disease Monitoring, Education
and Research
Terry M. Norton1,
Michelle Kaylor, Steven Nelsen, Amy Hupp, Rachael Thomas, Kimberly
Andrews
Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Jekyll
Island Authority,
Jekyll Island, GA
1tnorton@jekyllisland.com
Over the last 5 years there have been tremendous advances in our
knowledge about health and infectious disease in chelonians
including T. carolina (Allender et al., 2011, Johnson et al., 2007, 2008,
Feldman et al., 2006, and Alverez et al., 2012). A
Ranavirus, Frog Virus 3, is known to affect
Terrapene populations. Other infectious agents include a
Mycoplasma sp. (distinct
from other species but as yet unnamed) associated with upper
respiratory tract disease, an adenovirus (a member of a novel genus)
associated with enterohepatic disease, and a novel alphaherpesvirus
which has been found concurrently with ranaviral disease. The agent
of intranuclear coccidiosis, a significant chelonian pathogen, has
recently been identified in T.
carolina.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) is assessing the health of
resident box turtles on
Jekyll
Island and those brought
to the GSTC for rehabilitation. This assessment is guiding future
rehabilitation and management priorities in determining whether
offspring of displaced and injured individuals can be established in
the wild and potentially contribute to the viability of local
populations. Additionally, rehabilitation and release protocols are
being established based on information generated from this
assessment.
Over
a half a million people have had the opportunity to learn about
chelonians though the interactive educational exhibits and programs
at the GSTC since its opening over 5 years ago. Educators present
medical updates on patients, but more importantly discuss the
population effects of the various threats on turtle population
survival and how the average person can help. An exhibit dedicated
to box turtle conservation has been developed and is extremely
popular with visitors.
Allender, M. C., Abd-eldaim, m., Schumacher, J.,
Mcruer, D., Christian, L.S., and Kennedy, M.
2011. PCR prevalence of
Ranavirus in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina) in rehabilitation centers in
three southeastern US states. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 47:
759–764.
Alvarez, W.A, Gibbons, P.M., Rivera, S., Archer, L.L.,
Childress, A.L., and Wellehan, J.F.X.
2012. Development of a quantitative PCR for rapid and sensitive
diagnosis of intranuclear coccidiosis in tortoises, and
identification in the critically endangered Arakan forest turtle (Heosemys
depressa). Proceedings, 2012 Conference of the Association of
Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians.
Feldman, S. H., Wimsatt, J., Marchang, R.E., Johnson,
A.J., Brown, W., Mitchell, J.C., and Sleeman, J.M. 2006. A novel mycoplasma
detected in association with upper respiratory disease syndrome in
free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina) in Virginia. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 42:
279–289.
Johnson, A.J., Origgi, F.C., and Wellehan, J.F.X.
2007. Molecular diagnostics. In Infectious diseases and pathology of
reptiles, E. R. Jacobson (ed.). CRC Press,
Boca Raton, Florida, pp. 351–380.
Johnson, A.J., pessier, a.p., wellehan,j.f.x.,
childress,a., norton, t.m., stedman,n.l., bloom, d.c., belzer,w.,
titus, v.r., wagner, r., brooks, j.w., spratt,j., and jacobson, e.r.
2008. Ranavirus infection of free-ranging and captive box turtles
and tortoises in the United States.
Journal of Wildlife Diseases 44: 851–863.
Establishment of a Reference Interval for Fibrinogen in Ornate Box
Turtles (Terrepene ornata ornata)
Lily Parkinson
Colorado State
University
College
of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Fort Collins, CO
lilyparkinson@gmail.com
The ornate box turtle (Terrapene
ornata ornata) is currently listed as “near threatened” by the
International Union for Conservation of Nature. This status
necessitates further study to fully understand this species’
ecology. In order to gain the fullest understanding of how to best
to protect these turtle populations, researchers would be greatly
aided by a method for determining the levels of inflammation in
different turtle populations. This information could provide vital
clues to what environmental variables most negatively affect the
lives of ornate box turtles. One potential test for determining the
presence of inflammatory disease in box turtles could be blood
fibrinogen concentration. Blood fibrinogen levels have been shown to
correlate with inflammation in several species, and could serve as a
reliable indicator for inflammation in box turtles as well. Before
such studies can occur, however, a normal reference interval for
fibrinogen in ornate box turtles must be established. This study
aims to produce a normal reference interval in box turtles through
the sampling of at least 40 ornate box turtles. Currently, 24 box
turtles have been enrolled in the study, and the preliminary data
provides two possible interpretations. One interpretation could
indicate that ornate box turtles have a relatively narrow range of
fibrinogen levels, and that the few outliers observed so far were
due to stress that was missed in the study’s health screening. An
alternative interpretation of the data could indicate that all
screened healthy box turtles provided a normal fibrinogen level for
the study, but the data is not yet sufficient to confirm that the
fibrinogen levels at the high end of the normal range are not
outliers. The continuation of this study aims to elucidate which
interpretation is most correct. The researchers also hope to provide
a basis for future studies into fibrinogen as an indicator for
inflammation in ornate box turtles as well as other turtle species.
Under Fire: Responses of Eastern Box Turtles to Prescribed Burns
John H. Roe
University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC
john.roe@uncp.edu
Prescribed fire is an essential tool for the conservation and
management of longleaf ecosystems, and it is thus widely employed in
protected areas of the Southeastern United States. However, such management may
unintentionally overlook impacts to other non-target species that
are also of conservation concern, presenting land managers with
conflicts. Using radiotelemetry, temperature dataloggers, and
capture-mark-recapture, we are currently studying the vital rates
and seasonal behavioral responses of Eastern Box Turtles,
Terrapene carolina, to prescribed fire in the North
Carolina Sandhills. This study is being conducted in the Weymouth
Woods Natural Area (WEWO), a primarily xeric habitat where burns
have been used to manage longleaf forests for three decades, and in
the nearby Lumber River State Park (LRSP), a bottomland habitat
where prescribed burns are not employed. We expect that turtles
inhabiting areas with frequent burns (WEWO) would largely avoid
areas and habitat types subject to fire, and if not, they would
suffer increased mortality, injury incidence, and other reduced
vital rates relative to those where fire is not employed (LRSP).
Turtle activity centers at both sites have been in more mesic
microhabitats, and indeed the majority of locations have been in
close proximity to watercourses or in hardwood forests outside of
the burn management units. However, turtles at WEWO have used upland
longleaf forests of all post-fire intervals, including one that was
severely burned, with several entering burned habitats within weeks
after fire where we observed foraging, thermoregulatory, and
reproductive behaviors. Two turtles at WEWO are suspected to have
died or been severely injured by predators, while no turtles have
been lost from the LRSP. Turtles at both sites have moved
extensively, exhibited similar seasonal activity, and maintained
positive growth rates. While only preliminary, our findings yield
insight into the behavioral and population responses of turtles to
fire, thus informing burn managers of the risks to non-target
animals that are also of management priority.
Response of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene
carolina carolina) to Silviculture Treatments in the Valley and
Ridge Province of East Tennessee
John Rucker1, Leah Lavoie1, Kristie Fox1,
Matthew Allender2, John Byrd1,3, and the CRESO
Research Team1
1Clinch
River Environmental Studies
Organization (CRESO),
Clinton,
TN
2Department
of Comparative Biosciences, University
of Illinois, Urbana, IL
3creso@acs.ac
The potential impacts of different forestry management options on
the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene
carolina
carolina)
are uncertain. A regeneration timber harvest at the University of
Tennessee Forestry Resources Research Center in
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
provided an opportunity to study effects of this practice on a box
turtle population. Steep terrain combined with impenetrable
vegetation (mainly downed tree tops) made traditional search
techniques more problematic than normal for estimating turtle
density. From 2006-2012, trained Boykin Spaniels were employed to
find box turtles in an oak-hickory hardwood forest subject to
different silviculture objectives. From 2006-2007 we captured 78
individual box turtles in an11ha pre-harvest site and 230 individual
turtles in a 64 ha area adjacent to the harvest site. Thirty three
of the 78 individuals (42%) were recaptured post- harvest
(2008-2012), and 126 turtles (55%) were recaptured from the 64 ha.
In both cases the majority of turtles (32% vs. 30%) were recaptured
during 2008, the year after the timber harvest. Although there was
no pre-harvest capture data for a 13 ha forest stand subject to
partial harvesting techniques in 2004-05, a high density of turtles
was found there during the seven year study.
Population Characteristics and Habitat Use of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene
ornata) within Restored and Remnant Tallgrass Prairies
Kimberly E. Schmidt1 and Eric C. Hellgren
Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology,
Southern Illinois
University
Carbondale,
Carbondale, IL
1k.e.schmidt@siu.edu
The ornate box turtle (Terrapene
ornata) is an integral component of tallgrass prairie
ecosystems. This turtle species has been understudied in
Illinois, where it is classified as
state-threatened. Our objectives were to assess microhabitat
selection and characterize demography of
T. ornata at two sites in northwestern Illinois. We also describe critical habitat
used by transmitted individuals for overwintering, aestivation, and
nesting. From June 2011 to October 2012, we captured 111 individuals
(34F, 46M, and 31U) via foot surveys, opportunistic encounters, road
cruising, and the use of detector dogs. Capture data between sites
suggests variation in sex ratios between our 2 study populations.
One population was composed of approximately equal numbers of males
and female turtles (17F, 16M, X2=0.03, p=0.862), and the
other population contained nearly twice as many male turtles (17F,
30M, X2=3.596, p=0.058). We affixed radiotransmitters to
34 adults (14F, 20M) for monitoring in 2012, and collected
microhabitat data at approximately 1000 paired turtle and random
sites. These data are currently being analyzed to determine key
microsite characteristics associated with habitat selection by
T. ornata. Eight turtles
were tracked to their overwintering locations in 2011 (3F, 5M), and
28 animals (13F, 15M) were followed to overwintering locations in
2012. Overwintering locations of 5 animals (2F, 3M) could be
compared across both years. Three turtles (2F, 1M) displayed site
fidelity (2-4 m from the previous overwintering location). Of the 34
transmittered turtles, there is only one suspected depredation event
(1F). Five additional transmitters were lost by becoming detached
from the turtles’ shells during brummation (2M) and transmitter
malfunction (3M). Turtles are using remnant prairie for nesting and
overwintering habitat. Early spring phenology and prolonged drought
in 2012 may have encouraged early emergence, hindered turtle
movements, and encouraged early aestivation. Nesting was observed in
late May 2012 on a sand road on the preserve. Depredated carcasses
and road-kill mortalities occurred during the late summer and fall
months when turtles were active. Conservation managers may use these
data to maintain and restore suitable habitat for ornate box turtles
across their Midwestern range.
A Dollar a Turtle or How Your State Can Gather Long-term, Widespread
Data on a Budget
Ann Berry Somers1,4, Gabrielle Graeter2, John
D. Groves3
1Biology
Department, UNC Greensboro, Greensboro, NC
2North
Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Asheville, NC
3Animal
Section, North Carolina Zoological
Park, Asheboro, NC
4absomers@uncg.edu
The Box Turtle Collaborative (Collaborative) is a think tank for
conservation and education centered on box turtles. The group
consists of educators and biologists representing four
North Carolina institutions of higher
education and five state agencies. The Box Turtle Connection project
(BTC) is an initiative launched by the Collaborative in 2008 to
educate and engage citizens in box turtle science. The project
offers opportunities for participants to become involved either by
casually reporting observations to the Carolina Herp Atlas or by
making a long term commitment as volunteer Project Leaders. Project
Leaders are required to attend training sessions, mark turtles at
their designated site using a standardized protocol, and annually
enter data into a state-maintained, password-protected database.
Currently there are ~ 2200 data entries with 1700 unique turtles
from 30 sites, many of them state parks. Over 8,000 BTC volunteer
hours were submitted by NC Wildlife Resources Commission as match
for State Wildlife Grants last year. The cash outlay on the project
has been minimal and the interest in the project continues to
increase. Although still in the fledgling stage, the BTC can be a
model for other states interested in a low-cost, recession-proof
means of gathering widespread, scientifically accurate data on a
presumably declining species. Analysis of turtle data begins in
2013.
Reintroduction Program Reveals Homing Behavior and a Previously
Unknown Nesting Strategy in
Terrapene ornata
Charles R. Tucker1,4,, Jeramie T. Strickland2,
and Day B. Ligon3
1Department
of Biology, Missouri State University,
Springfield, MO
2US
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Thomson,
IL
3Department
of Biology, Missouri State University,
Springfield, MO
4crtucker2@gmail.com
A long term research and conservation program was initiated in 2008
at the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge in
northwestern Illinois. Because ornate
box turtles (Terrapene ornata)
are threatened in Illinois,
our initial goals were to determine the species’ population status
on seven local prairies and to assess the feasibility of a
reintroduction program. Searches using trained dogs confirmed box
turtle presence at six of seven prairies, one of which was not
previously known to support box turtles. A reintroduction program
was initiated in which eggs were collected from a donor population
and head-started for one year before release at a former military
depot from which box turtles had been extirpated. Each year, half of
the head-started turtles were released inside an enclosure at the
former military depot and half were released at the donor site. When
nests were located, eggs from some nests were collected for the
head-start program and temperature data loggers were placed into
other nests that were allowed to incubate naturally. During nest
searches, some nesting females were found to be completely
underground during nesting. This behavior may allow females to
oviposit deeper in the substrate, thus influencing the incubation
environment. This may be important for a species that exhibits
temperature-dependent sex determination. Females found to have
nested underground had deeper nests, but average temperatures did
not significantly differ from other nests. However, temperature
profiles in deeper nests fluctuated less and had lower maximum
temperatures, factors which also influence survivorship and gonadal
development. Finally, some
Terrapene species exhibit homing behavior, which has apparently
affected spatial use of the release-site enclosure. Some
translocated individuals were frequently observed at the enclosure’s
edge, presumably the result of homing behavior and attempts to
return to former home ranges. Monitoring revealed that translocated
turtles tended to be closer to the enclosure edge than resident or
head-started turtles. However, the average distance to the fence
increased in successive years among translocated turtles but
remained the same for resident and head-started turtles, indicating
that homing declined over time.
The Impacts of Intraspecific Variation on Phylogenetic Resolution in
Terrapene
Natasha S. Vitek and Robert W. Burroughs1
Jackson
School
of Geosciences, The University
of Texas at Austin,
Austin, TX
1Rburroughs@utexas.edu
Levels of variation in one population that exceed interspecific
levels known to be expressed between sister species can make
specimen identification within a clade problematic. Box turtles of
the extant genus Terrapene exemplify this problem. Historically, the clade has been
divided into four extant species and ten extant subspecies based on
distinct morphological characteristics. It has been noted that
intraspecific variation exists within both species and subspecies,
but that variation remains poorly characterized. The situation
presents a circular problem; characterizing variation across the
temporal and geographic range of the clade remains intractable until
lineages can be separated and studied individually, but lineages
remain unidentifiable, especially in the fossil record, due to a
lack of understanding of variation. In systematics, this problem can translate into poor understanding
of apomorphies and a lack of resolution in phylogenetic
analyses. To attempt to
further understand the evolutionary history of
Terrapene, we chose to
evaluate variation in recent specimens and Pleistocene age fossils
in a phylogenetic context. Our goal was to further understand how
variation can impact phylogenetic analyses overall and attempt to
separate lineages present in both the modern record and fossil
record for further study. We used specimen-level phylogenetic
analyses to explore whether variation between specimen-level
terminals still allowed for species-level resolution. We scored
multiple specimens of extant species of
Terrapene as well as
multiple fossils from several localities. We hypothesized that specimens would cluster in polytomic
assemblages by species, if variation had a minimal effect on
resolution. However, in our analysis not all specimens clustered
together into species assemblages. Examination of character
distribution indicated that coding specimen-level, as opposed to
species-level, terminals caused signal from intraspecific variation
to overwhelm potential apomorphies that were traditionally used to
separate species. We then collapsed recent specimens into
species-level terminals and fossil specimens into locality-level
terminals. That approach resulted in traditionally recognized
clades. In this case, we find that currently recognized apomorphies
for species of Terrapene are insufficient for specimen-level identification against
the backdrop of the broad intraspecific variation that is found in
the genus. In this context, reliable, apomorphy-based
identification of isolated specimens of
Terrapene in the fossil record is currently impossible. Adding
extinct ‘species’ known from only single specimens to an analysis
presents a comparable situation. Further, some currently recognized
species and subspecies are not immune to this problem. We found that
the hypothesized morphological distinctions between different
species, such as shell shape and co-ossification of bones in the
shell were not reliable indicators of species at different points in
time, once variation was accounted for. Our results indicate a
broader need for continued work on phylogeny of
Terrapene.
Husbandry Techniques Used during a
Ranavirus Outbreak in Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina) at the
Maryland
Zoo in Baltimore
Allison N. Wack1
, Richard Sim2,
Kevin J. Murphy3,
Kevin Barrett4,5,
and Ellen Bronson1
1Medical
Department, The Maryland Zoo in
Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
2Wildlife Center of Virginia,
Waynesboro, VA
3Animal
Department, The Philadelphia Zoo, Philadelphia, PA
4Animal Department, The Maryland
Zoo in Baltimore, Baltimore,
MD
5kevin.barrett@marylandzoo.org
During the summer of 2011 The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore experienced a Ranavirus outbreak in its
population of 27 Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina).
In response to the outbreak the Animal Department, working with the
zoo’s Medical Department, developed protocols in order to treat the
turtles and to prevent the disease from spreading to other species
in the collection. These protocols included quarantine guidelines,
modified environmental parameters, intensive supportive care
including nutritional support, and extensive multimodal medical
treatment in conjunction with the veterinary staff. As a result 14
of 27 turtles survived the outbreak and successfully overwintered
outdoors, which far exceeds previous survival numbers in this
species.
.
|
Posters
Resting Metabolism of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene
carolina)
Eva Grebe1 and C. M. Gienger
Center of Excellence
for Field Biology at Austin Peay State University,
Clarksville, TN
1egrebe@my.apsu.edu
Measuring the Standard Metabolic Rates (SMR) of ectotherms is key to
understanding their thermal physiology and understanding the
potential impacts of an altered global climate. We measured SMR of
box turtles from a population in Tennessee (USA) and determine how
variation in body size and temperature influence patterns of resting
energy use. Our results indicate that across both juvenile and adult
body sizes, individuals tested at 30C have approximately double the
SMR as individuals tested at 20C. There is also no indication that a
difference exists in male versus female SMR at the two temperatures.
This information will also aid in assessing potential effects of
global climate change on alterations of energy budgets of
free-ranging box turtles.
Photography as a Means of Identification of Individual Eastern Box
Turtles, Terrapene carolina carolina
Donald E. Hoss1, Carolyn R. Hoss1 and
Antoinette M. Gorgone2,3
1Beaufort,
NC
2Southeast
Fisheries
Science
Center, National Marine Fisheries
Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Beaufort
Lab, Beaufort, NC
3annie.gorgone@noaa.gov
Photographic techniques to identify individuals from their natural
markings have been well established for many species, including
turtles. The ability to identify individuals over long periods can
be used for mark-recapture techniques which can provide information
on movement, distribution and population size. Our objective was to
determine if the patterns on the carapace of individual Eastern Box
Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) could be a
method to identify individuals and if this method could be used over
period of years. Box turtles were captured opportunistically over a
12 year period on a 3.4 ha mostly wooded site in the eastern portion
of Carteret County, North Carolina.
All turtles were photographed, measured and weighed. During the
study period, we captured and photographed 40 turtles that ranged
from 2.8 to 15.2 cm straight plastron length. Sixteen turtles were
captured more than once. The longest period between capture and
subsequent recapture was nine years. The smallest turtles captured
(less than 7 cm in plastron length) had not developed the adult
markings on the carapace. Turtles greater than 7 cm in plastron
length, at time of capture, had developed the adult pattern and
showed no change in shell pattern when recaptured. This method of
“marking” turtles may be a valuable tool for citizen scientist
projects in that it is inexpensive, easy to accomplish and is
non-invasive to the turtle. We conclude that photography can be used
as a non-invasive method for identifying individual eastern box
turtles.
Click here for
poster.
.
Parentage in the Eastern Box Turtle
Terrapene c. carolina
Steven J.A. Kimble1, Russell L. Burke, Tim Green, and Rod
N. Williams
Department of Forestry and Natural Resources,
Purdue
University, West Lafayette, IN
1skimble@purdue.edu
Multiple census studies of the eastern box turtle (Terrapene
c. carolina)
demonstrate that this species is experiencing steep population
declines. Understanding basic biology of a declining species is an
indispensible first step in reversing these trends. While much of
the natural history of box turtles in known, key aspects remain
poorly understood, leaving management plans incomplete. These
include traits that can be best assessed at the genetic level, such
as the mating system. Reproductive strategies such as multiple
paternity drive up reproductive variance. High reproductive variance
reduces the effective size of a population because it indicates that
the actual number of parents contributing to the next generation is
much reduced. Specifically, it means that every individual found in
a census may not reproduce successfully in a given year, and
management plans must allow for this phenomenon. High reproductive
variance, therefore, can compound demographic declines, a phenomenon
that must be incorporated into management plans for any such
species. Multiple paternity is likely in
box turtles as it has been documented in several confamilial species
(e.g., Glyptemys insculpta,
Emys blandingii,
Emys orbicularis,
Chrysemys picta) but
frequency can vary greatly among closely related species and even
among populations. This study will help parameterize effective
population size estimates, inform captive rearing efforts, and
develop hypotheses about the social mating system in box turtles.
Click here for
poster.
Baseline Hematology and Plasma Biochemistry Values for Free-Ranging
Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene
carolina carolina) in Illinois and Tennessee
Terrell C. Lloyd,1,6, Matthew C. Allender2,
Michael J. Dreslik3,
John Byrd4, Christopher A. Phillips3, and
Russell Moore5
1College
of Veterinary Medicine, University
of Illinois,
Chicago,
IL
2Department
of Comparative Biosciences, University
of Illinois, Urbana, IL
3Illinois
Natural History Survey, Prairie Research Institute,
University
of Illinois, Champaign, IL
4Clinch
River Environmental Studies
Organization (CRESO),
Clinton,
TN
5Dept.
of Pathobiology, University
of Illinois,
Urbana,
Il
6Tlloyd2@illinois.edu
Few studies have established sufficient hematologic and plasma
biochemical analysis of free-ranging Eastern box turtles (Terrapene
carolina
carolina).
Thus, a comparative health assessment was employed to 1)
establish a baseline health assessment for two populations and 2)
provide a comparative health assessment between those populations.
Physical examinations were performed and blood samples were
collected from 426 Eastern box turtles in east central Illinois and Oak
Ridge, Tennessee.
Individuals were sampled during three separate time periods: May
(spring), late June (summer), and September (fall) of 2011 and 2012.
Several comparisons were made including changes in health parameters
based on age, sex, institution, and season. Reference ranges were
established for packed cell volume, total solids, white blood cell
and differential counts, calcium, phosphorus, aspartate
aminotransferase, bile acids, creatine kinase, and uric acid. The
results provide a baseline health assessment via clinical parameters
for both the Tennessee and
Illinois
populations. These results can be used as baseline clinical
parameters and serve as an indicator of population health in future
studies. Protocols established for this project can be adapted and
included for other box turtle biological surveys.
Artificial Nest Experiments on Methods to Reduce Predation on Ornate
Box Turtle Nests
Andrew McCollum1,4, Neil Bernstein2, Bob Black1,3
1Department
of Biology, Cornell College,
Mount Vernon, IA
2Department
of Natural and Applied Sciences, Mount
Mercy
University,
Cedar Rapids, IA
3Deceased
4amccollum@cornellcollege.edu
The ornate box turtle,
Terrapene ornata, is listed as threatened in
Iowa, as it is in much of the
Midwest. While it is possible to identify a number of
threats to the species in the state, the greatest source of
mortality in the life history of this species is nest predation,
closely followed by predation on hatchlings and young juveniles.
While this is common in turtle life histories, is it likely that
predation rates are artificially high in the modern
agricultural-residential matrix of land use in which populations of
omnivorous predators are subsidized by agricultural crops and human
refuse. One goal of our research is to investigate practical methods
to reduce nest predation. While protecting nests with cages is
effective, it requires locating nests, which is labor intensive.
Cages are also highly visible to humans and may increase human
disturbance or poaching. We conducted three experiments using
artificial nests to assess (1) the cues nest predators use to
identify nests, (2) the efficacy of a hot-pepper powder (“Squirrel
Away”) as a predator repellent, and (3) the efficacy of adding
increasing numbers of unprofitable (empty) nests into an
experimental array as a means of reducing detection and depredation
of profitable (chicken egg-bearing) nests. Artificial nests were
depredated at equal rates regardless of distance from an ecological
edge, the presence of a marking flag or the presence of eggs in a
nest; from these observations we conclude that disturbed soil is the
primary cue used by nest predators to detect potential nests.
Artificial nests treated with hot pepper powder were no less likely
to be depredated, so we conclude that that approach seems unlikely
to provide any protection to nests. Finally, increasing the number
of unprofitable nests in an experimental array had no effect on the
risk of predation on nests containing chicken eggs; in fact, the
overall rate of nest excavation by predators was greatest in arrays
with the greatest number of empty nests. This latter result may be
an artifact of the fixed size of our arrays, such that increasing
the number of empty nests increased nest density in the array and
reduced the average distance between nests. Our presence at one
site, where we had crews of 2-3 people working daily from
approximately midnight until noon appears to have had a small but
significant effect on predation, as that site had a lower rate of
predation than the other two sites at which we set up experimental
arrays but only visited briefly in daytime to monitor experiments.
While we have not to date developed an effective alternative to
cages for reducing nest predation, we remain optimistic that better
understanding of predator behavior may yield practical solutions.
Helping Box Turtles by Educating the
Public
Andrew Mellon
Carolina
Box Turtles,
Lawndale,
NC
ophisgoat@gmail.com
Citizen scientists, amateur herpers, and
volunteer educators provide a valuable service to scientists by
being able to access geographic areas and demographics that may be
unavailable to the scientific community for a variety of reasons.
Since 2012, I have been collecting box turtle data as a citizen
scientist and amateur herper for the Davidson College's
Carolina Herp Atlas. This data includes location, sex, physical
characteristics, ambient temperature at the time the turtle is
found, and any human activity in the vicinity. These research
findings contribute not only to the Herp Atlas but to my work as a
volunteer educator in informing the public about the decline of the
box turtle in the Western Piedmont of North Carolina. I lecture
and create educational materials for children and adults about the
care and husbandry of box turtles, the dangers of the pet trade to
wild box turtle populations, and easy ways to promote the
conservation of box turtles in their natural habitat. In return, I
often learn about new locations to collect information on these
animals.
Click here for
poster.
Road Mortality in Terrapene
carolina and T. ornata:
Are Females More at Risk?
Ariel Richter1,3,
Eric Johansen2,
Tom O'Connell1,
and Stanley F. Fox2.
1Natural Resource and Ecology Department,
Oklahoma
State University,
Stillwater,
OK
2Zoology Department, Oklahoma State
University, Stillwater, OK.
3ariel.richter@okstate.edu
Many turtle species make periodic and extended overland migrations,
which can result in individuals being struck and killed by motor
vehicles as the turtles cross roads. While both sexes regularly
migrate, females may be more susceptible to collisions because they
tend to move farther than males and may seek out roadside ditches
for nesting. Box turtles
especially make extensive overland movements and are often found
dead on roads. Human
development is a major influence on turtle mortality because it
reduces the amount of suitable habitat overall and the number of
safe passages for migrating turtles. We predicted that areas with
higher road densities and human development would have a decreased
turtle population and would have higher road mortality. We predicted
that both areas would have a capture and roadkill bias towards
females. We surveyed two road routes in the Sequoyah National
Wildlife Refuge (SNWR) in Sequoyah County,
Oklahoma
(19.4 total miles, forested and agricultural land), and two road
routes in the Norman/Noble city areas in
Cleveland County, Oklahoma
(41.6 total miles, urban, suburban, and agricultural development).
Each route was driven twice daily (before 0800 and after 17:00 hrs
CDT) for a total of 17 days for the Norman/Noble
routes during 20 May–13 August, 2011, and a total of 25 days for the
SNWR routes during 16 May–13 July, 2011. Surveys included both dead
and live turtles found within 2 meters of the roadway. We pooled
data for both Terrapene
species. Road mortality was biased toward females (M=11, F=32). We
also found 9 juveniles, 1 hatchling, and 1 adult of unknown sex. We
kept note of all turtle species encountered for a total of 50
individuals of 6 species (M=11, F=15, unknown sex=3, juveniles=6,
and hatchlings=15). Turtle density was different and significantly
higher at SNWR (mean = 0.078 turtles/mi) compared to the
Norman/Noble locality (mean = 0.023 turtles/mi). We found a
significantly greater proportion of the turtles at the Norman/Noble
locality were found dead on the road (0.69) than at the SNWR (0.08),
suggesting that the population at the more human-developed locality
is strongly influenced by road mortality. Box turtles
disproportionately selected areas around large bodies of water and
expanses of herbaceous vegetation. We conclude that roads negatively
impact box turtle populations directly by vehicular mortality and
indirectly by leading towards a male bias in the population, both
factors that may greatly impact recruitment rates for future
generations.
Click here for
poster.
Effect of Prescribed Fire on Overwintering
Terrapene carolina
Jordan A. Smink1, Kristoffer Wild, and John H. Roe
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina
at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC
1jas028@bravemail.uncp.edu
There is a keen interest in maintaining and increasing the
population of the only terrestrial turtle species found in
North Carolina, the Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene c. carolina. These
turtles are slow to mature and have a low reproductive
rate, making them especially susceptible to population decline as a
direct or indirect result of human activities. Prescribed fire is a
common management practice employed in much of the range of T. c.
carolina
in the southeastern
United States. To develop effective
conservation strategies it is important to understand the behavioral
responses of these turtle to fire. In particular, we are studying
the effects of prescribed fire on overwintering microhabitat
selection in T. c. carolina in the North Carolina Sandhills.
As turtles may be especially vulnerable to fire at this critical
time of year when their movement responses are severely impaired, we
expect them to associate with habitat features that confer some
protection against fire. We located the overwintering sites of
turtles using radio telemetry in the Weymouth Woods Nature Preserve,
where controlled fire is used to manage the understory of the Long
Leaf Pine forest, and in the Lumber River State Park,
where fire is not used. Turtles at both sites reduced activity
throughout October and November, and finally settled into
overwintering sites by early December. Turtles at both sites moved
into lowland habitats near water for overwintering. We are now in
the process of collecting microhabitat environmental variables.
Understanding how fire impacts the availability and distribution of
suitable overwintering habitat of T. c. carolina will yield
insight into the effects of fire on this non-target species, and
thus help improve management for this species of conservation
concern.
Young Citizen Scientists Tracking Box Turtles at the Lake Raleigh
Area
Juliana Thomas
Exploris Middle School, Raleigh, NC, and Centennial Campus Center
for Wildlife Education in the North Carolina Wildlife Resources
Commission, Raleigh, NC
jthomas@exploris.org
Exploris
Middle School sixth graders have been
collaborating with the
Centennial
Campus Center
for Wildlife Education since 2007 to learn more about Eastern box
turtles and the habitats in which they live. Our study site is Lake
Raleigh Woods and some of the surrounding wooded area not protected
from development on North Carolina State
University’s Centennial Campus in Raleigh, NC.
Students have used radio telemetry equipment to track box turtles.
With guidance from our educators they collect real data, learn about
the scientific method, and receive hands-on experience with GPS,
temperature guns, sling psychrometers, soil and light testers,
Kestrel units, and GIS. Students develop their own study objectives,
carry out all the field work, plot the data points, analyze the
data, write conclusions and develop questions for continued study.
Students also learn about the challenges facing urban populations of
wildlife, relocated turtle complications, and discuss ways to
prevent continued turtle fatalities. They have contributed to news
stories, newspaper articles, given presentations at NCGIS
conferences and to our state government GIS committee, and presented
posters of their work with the turtles.
Click here for
poster1 and
poster2.
Use of Automated Radio Telemetry to Detect Nesting Activity in
Ornate Box Turtles, Terrapene
ornata
Charles R. Tucker1,7, Thomas A. Radzio2,
Jeramie T. Strickland3, Ed Britton4, David K.
Delaney5 and Day B. Ligon6
1Department
of Biology, Missouri State University,
Springfield, MO
2Department
of Biology, Drexel University,
Philadelphia,
PA
3US
Fish and Wildlife Service,
Thomson,
IL
4Upper
Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish
Refuge, IL
5US
Army Construction and Engineering Research Laboratory, Terre Haute, IN
6Department
of Biology, Missouri State University,
Springfield, MO
7crtucker2@gmail.com
Researchers often employ radio telemetry to efficiently
locate study animals, but the time required to locate individuals
can make monitoring large populations difficult and costly. In
2010–2011, we located nesting ornate box turtles (Terrapene
ornata) in a large group of radio-tagged animals. To minimize
search efforts, we investigated whether automated radio telemetry
and the signal change method could be used to identify nesting
activity before locating animals. The signal change method relies on
the principle that any movement of a radio transmitter, including
minor changes in orientation, can strongly affect the intensity of
the transmitter’s signal at a stationary receiving station. Using
video recordings of free-ranging radio-tagged turtles, we confirmed
that transmitter signal strength values can be analyzed to identify
periods of box turtle activity. Early in the 2010 nesting season,
automated telemetry observations indicated that some females engaged
in nocturnal activity. Previous reports indicate that ornate box
turtles often nest at night, but are otherwise inactive after dark.
Based upon this information and relatively little indication of
nocturnal activity by males, we hypothesized that nocturnal activity
corresponded to nesting. We subsequently monitored female nighttime
activity in near real time, hand-tracked 4 night-active individuals,
and found 3 of these turtles nesting. In 2011, we again selectively
hand-tracked night-active females and located nests for 12 of 18
study animals, which approximates the expected annual reproductive
rate for our population. We demonstrate that the signal change
method can be used to identify nesting activity in ornate box
turtles and suggest this method may be of use in other species that
nest outside of their normal activity periods.
Click
here for
poster.
Patterns of Morphological Variation in the Shell of the Eastern Box
Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Natasha S. Vitek
Jackson School of Geosciences, The
University
of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
nsvitek@utexas.edu
An accurate understanding of subspecific structure and variation
within the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene
carolina) can inform conservation
efforts, highlighting unique populations or regions that may deserve
particular focus. Terrapene carolina was traditionally divided into
four extant and one extinct subspecies. The high level of
intraspecific variation within the species was assumed to be a
reflection of subspecific diversity. However, research based on
genetic data has recovered conflicting relationships between some
subspecies and no support for others. In addition, researchers
studying the largest subspecies have questioned whether supposedly
diagnostic features for those groups may simply be features of
large-bodied box turtles in general. In order to investigate
potential morphological support for the traditionally recognized
subspecies, I used geometric morphometrics with two datasets to
investigate to what extent size and subspecific identity can explain
variation in shell shape. One dataset contained 136 specimens
ranging from hatchlings to adults. A second dataset consisted of 200
adult specimens equally distributed across the four extant
subspecies recognized in the United States.
Specimens in both datasets were compared qualitatively and
quantitatively through multiple analyses. Regardless of whether the
dataset included or excluded juveniles, size explained a significant
component of shape variation. In both datasets, larger turtles were
more elongated anteroposteriorly, more bell-shaped dorsoventrally,
and had more distinctive marginals in comparison to smaller turtles.
The extent to which subspecific identity explained patterns of shape
variation was more difficult to assess. Statistical comparisons of
mean shape resulted in significant differences between all four
nominative subspecies. I found minor differences in a qualitative
comparison of average shell shape for each subspecies. In contrast,
I found that all of the shell shape of each subspecies was not
distinct in morphospace in canonical variates analyses.
Additionally, multiple assignments tests based on shell shape could
not reliably assign specimens to subspecies. It is possible that
those differences between the shell shape of the four nominative
subspecies of T. carolina may be
significant statistically, but not significant biologically. The
results of this study should not be interpreted as an argument
against existing subspecific taxonomy of T.
carolina. Rather, the results highlight
the need for a better understanding of what explains variation, both
genetic and phenotypic, within the species and how best to conserve
the resulting diversity.
Click here for
poster.
Likelihood of Turtle Mortality During Attempted Road Crossing
Nathaniel S. Weaver1
and Robert Baldwin
Wildlife and Fisheries Biology, Clemson University,
Clemson,
SC
1nsweave@g.clemson.edu
Box turtles and other species of turtle crossing the road are a
common sight in the southeastern
United States, especially during
breeding season (May-June) (Cureton and Deaton 2012). This puts the
animals in direct danger from motor vehicle strikes. Understanding
the reasons for these strikes and where collisions are most common
could prove useful in developing appropriate strategies to reduce
loss. I hypothesize that more turtles are hit during low light
periods (early morning and evening) by accident, and that deliberate
impact is higher in the daytime when turtles are more visible. I
also hypothesize that impact is more likely in urban areas due to
the higher number of cars, but the ratio of the number of impacts to
the number of cars passing is lower for the urban areas. This could
occur because fewer people will hit turtles on purpose on urban
roads, possibly for fear of being seen. This could also occur
because drivers are more likely to see a car ahead of them dodging
something in the road and prepare to dodge it themselves on urban
roads.
In a pilot study, a rubber toy turtle approximating the size and
shape of a real box turtle was placed in the road in an urban
setting. In the first hour, 7 out of 267 passing vehicles (2.6 %)
swerved and hit the artificial turtle. In subsequent trials, the
decoy was struck 2.7% in urban areas (n= 713) and 7.2% in rural
areas (n= 153).
These findings can be part of a greater conservation strategy for
turtles crossing roads in the southeastern
United States. They can identify
the most dangerous time of day and location (urban vs. rural) for a
turtle crossing the road. They can also determine whether
vehicle-caused turtle mortality in this area is high enough to be of
concern to long-term population survival. This information can be
distributed to the public, especially in areas known to have high
turtle density.
I am using Twitter and Facebook to collect turtle sightings on roads
in Pickens County, SC
where Clemson is located. I collect GPS coordinates or a description
of the location. I will compile this information into GIS and
determine turtle crossing hotspots in
Pickens County. This will help determine where to
focus management efforts.
Cureton, J. C. and Deaton, D. R.
2012. Hot Moments and Hot Spots: Identifying Factors Explaining
Temporal and Spatial Variation in
Turtle Road Mortality. Journal of
Wildlife Management 76: 1047-1052.
Click here for
poster.
Risk and Response of Box Turtles to Prescribed Fire
Kristoffer Wild1, and John H. Roe
Department of Biology, University of North Carolina
at Pembroke, Pembroke, NC
1khw001@bravemail.uncp.edu
Prescribed fire is a common management technique used to maintain
the characteristics indicative to longleaf pine communities, but the
effects on non-target species are not well understood. The Eastern
Box Turtle,
Terrapenecarolina,is commonly found in longleaf systems, but its
limited mobility and terrestrial tendencies put it at heightened
risk of exposure to fire. Understanding the response of this
non-target species to prescribed fire can assist park mangers in
planning more effective management activities. Using radiotelemetry,
we are examining the behavioral response of
T.carolinafire management
at Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, where prescribed fire
has been used for decades, as well as at the
Lumber River State Park,
where fire is not used. Turtles at both study sites have selected
areas that are in close proximity to watercourses, with several
individuals spending extended periods in water. Turtles are
primarily associating with non-burned areas of the park, including
bottomland and upland mixed hardwood forests, though several areas
of intensive activity occur in the longleaf burn units. We suggest
that turtles are selecting habitats that confer some protection
against fire, though they regularly make forays into burn management
units and are then at risk of injury or death from fire. Indeed, one
turtle has been burned and sustained injuries that we suspect
contributed to its later death. Though still preliminary, our study
highlights areas and habitats of intense turtle use that can help
park managers assess the risks of prescribed fire to
T. carolina, and
ultimately lead to more effective management of this species of
management concern.
Click here for
poster.
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