Field techniques used in recent studies of the population ecology of European tortoises are discussed. An efficient marking system suitable for large sample sizes is described. The dual problems ofageing adults and sexing juveniles are highlighted. The relative merits of sampling techniques are dependent on habitat and population density. Mark-recapture techniques are most suitable when sampling is conducted within a grid system which enables results to be stratified, allowing for differential ease of location. However, grid sampling is only practical where tortoise densities are high. At low density sites, or for brief surveys, recording numbers observed per man hour along random paths is the most convenient method, but allowances must be made for differential observer skill. Existing sampling methods bias against finding inactive animals and where these form a large proportion of the population, sample size is strongly influenced by habitat type.
Daily activity patterns of Testudo hermanni in summer are described for two sites, Alyki, a coastal heathland in Greece, and the Massif des Maures, a woodland in France. Activity was bimodal in the former and unimodal in the latter. Habitat type was thought to be more important than latitude and climate in accounting for this pattern. AtAlyki there was a sex ratio of encounters of2. 7 ♂: 1 ♀ in summer, but no differences between the sexes in daily activity pattern. In the Massif des Maures, the ratio varied through the season, from 0.5 ♂: 1 9 in June, to 2.6 ♂: 1 9 in September, suggesting seasonal differences in activity of the sexes. Population density at Alyki was 5 times greater than in the Massif des Maures, yet sighting frequency was similar. This was accounted for by the increased ease offinding active animals in the woodland from the noise they made in the leaf litter.
The mean body temperature of T. hermanni in woodland in France was 28.5 °C (August 1981). Body temperatures were elevated above air temperature and indirect evidence for basking and selection of an optimal microenvironment is discussed.
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