Activity patterns and habitat preference of eastern Hermann’s tortoise(Testudo hermanni boettgeri) in Serbia

Abstract

We analyzed variation in the distribution of eastern Hermann's tortoise (Testudo hermanni boettgeri) in a complex landscape consisting of both natural and human-altered habitats in a temperate climate region in Serbia. Our results indicated nonrandom distribution of tortoises within different habitat types with large and medium effect size for year and activity pattern, respectively. Additionally, the tortoises expressed relatively weak preference for habitats modified by human activity (e.g., vineyards, orchards, or gardens). The results suggested that these tortoises preferred some particular habitats more than others when performing specific activities. They also did not exhibit the same distribution pattern among habitats over consequent years. In other words, they were not randomly distributed among habitat types with regard to specific activity or year. The information on preferences in complex habitat systems is important for the conservation management of eastern Hermann's tortoise and should be considered when planning activities related to sustainable development within the region of study.

Distribution of Hermann’s tortoise across Serbia with implications for conservation

“…The model suggests that the natural habitats of Hermann's tortoises are characterized by lower altitude slopes under semi-open areas, such as shrubs, broadleaf forests and pastures. These findings are in accordance with previous descriptions of the species' habitat preferences [8,25,30,31]. It was suggested that populations of Hermann's tortoises mainly inhabit bright thermophilic oak forests (e.g.…”

The anatomy, paleobiology, and evolutionary relationships of the largest extinct side-necked turtle

“…The elongated and deep scar in the left horn of CIAAP-2002-01 (see the Supplementary Materials) could be interpreted as a mark resulting from combat between males. Many extant tortoises use their protruding epiplastral horns for combat, often with the goal of flipping the opponent (36)(37)(38).…”

Macro- and microhabitat preferences of eastern Hermann’s tortoise (Testudo hermanni boettgeri)

“…Numerous studies on the western subspecies (T. h. hermanni) revealed its preference toward specific habitats for specific purposes (Longepierre et al, 2001;Corti and Zuffi, 2003;Rugiero and Luiselli, 2006;del Vecchio et al, 2011;Corti et al, 2013;Berardo et al, 2015;Vilardell-Bartino et al, 2015): in some places, tortoises were selected both bushy and woody habitats for hibernation (probably due to a more stable local environmental temperature that enables them to survive the winter -see in Steen et al, 2007 andVilardell-Bartino et al, 2015) while shrubs without spines were the most visited in the hottest parts of the summer days (Vilardell-Bartino et al, 2015); during the feeding period, the tortoises showed preference to spots with herbaceous vegetation, while blackberries were predominantly chosen for hiding, shelter and during the mating season. Studies on the Eastern Hermann's tortoise (T. h. boettgeri) analyzed habitat preferences mostly on the broad scale, indicating meadows, bushes, shrubs and the edges of forests as the most preferable habitats both in Mediterranean parts and in the inland of the Balkans (Cruce and Rȃducan, 1976;Meek and Inskeep, 1981;Meek, 1985Meek, , 1988Wright et al, 1988; Rozylowicz and Dobre, 2010; Rozylowicz and Popescu, 2013; Türkozan et al, 2015;Stojadinović et al, 2017). It was also suggested that complex habitat matrices harbor relatively dense eastern Hermann's tortoise populations due to (still) low human impact e.g.…”

“…It was also suggested that complex habitat matrices harbor relatively dense eastern Hermann's tortoise populations due to (still) low human impact e.g. modest alteration of primary habitats (Stojadinović et al, 2017). However, studies that analyze preference of eastern Hermann's tortoises on a finer scale of macro and micro habitats (see in Villardel-Bartino et al, 2015) have not been published so far.…”

“…Researchers face three problems when conducting studies for detailed determination of habitat preference and these are: characterization of the available microhabitat types, quantification of the relative abundance of different microhabitats and determination of the habitat spatial scale relevant to the focal organism (Del Vecchio et al, 2011). These authors revealed that western Hermann's tortoises choose small patches of suitable habitat in a matrix of less desirable habitats, while this study attempted to investigate macro-and microhabitat selection in eastern Hermann's tortoise where habitat degradation on a large scale is still lower (Rozylowicz and Popescu, 2013;Stojadinović et al, 2017). To get more accurate information on possible variation, we have analyzed Hermann's tortoises' macro and microhabitat choice on several localities and in two seasons (spring and summer).…”