Influence of landscape condition on relative abundance and body condition of two generalist freshwater turtle species

Mota, Joel L.; Brown, Donald J.; Canning, D.M.; Crayton, Sara M.; Lozon, Darien N.; Gulette, Alissa L.; Anderson, James T.; Mali, Ivana; Dickerson, Brian E.; Forstner, Michael R. J.; Watson, Mark; Pauley, Thomas K.

doi:10.1002/ece3.7450

Cited by 7 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 109 publications

(122 reference statements)

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“…Individual fitness affects survival and reproduction and is key to understanding population processes in wild animals (Brommer et al, 2004; Link et al, 2002). Body condition, defined broadly as some measure of the energy storage of an individual relative to its structural size (Gosler, 1996; Schulte‐Hostedde et al, 2005), is often used as a proxy for fitness, and can be used to make inferences about individual health and population status (Christiansen, Dawson, et al, 2020; Currie et al, 2021; Gibson et al, 2018; Mota et al, 2021; Mumby et al, 2015; Willems et al, 2021). Through comparisons across time periods, habitats and environmental conditions, studies of body condition have improved our understanding of individual and population‐level responses to environmental change and anthropogenic stressors (Brosset et al, 2015; Phillips et al, 2018; Stirling et al, 1999; Willems et al, 2021; Williams et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating 3D models with morphometric measurements to improve volumetric estimates in marine mammals

et al. 2022

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1. Studies of body condition are key to understanding the health, bioenergetics and ecological roles of marine mammals. Due to challenges in studying marine mammals at sea, body condition is often approximated using metrics representing the size of the dorsal surface visible from aerial imagery, but quantifying variability in body volume would enable a more holistic understanding of bioenergetics.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating 3D models with morphometric measurements to improve volumetric estimates in marine mammals

et al. 2022

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“…Environmental and anthropogenic effects on aquatic turtles are often inferred from hoop trap surveys (Hollender and Ligon 2021, Mota et al 2021, Ostovar et al 2021). Using this monitoring method, counts of turtles across survey sites and through time are standardized to a measure of catch per unit effort (CPUE) using trapping effort, which is the product of the number of traps deployed and the number of nights they are set (trap‐nights).…”

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confidence: 99%

Detection, occupancy, and abundance of the alligator snapping turtle in Texas

et al. 2023

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The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a long‐lived species that is widely distributed across the southeastern United States. Both these characteristics make monitoring its occupancy and abundance particularly challenging. In 2020 and 2021, we conducted hoop trap surveys at 51 permanent water bodies across the Texas, USA, range of the species to estimate occupancy and average abundance with site occupancy models and multinomial N‐mixture models, respectively. We confirmed the species to be present at 61% of surveyed locations. Mean detection probability was 0.77, and was influenced methodologically by the spacing of traps, and environmentally by lunar phase and water flow velocity. Mean occupancy probability was 0.82, and mean estimated abundance was 7.57 turtles/site. Our data provided evidence that the species has a higher occurrence probability in waters of highly forested catchments, and is most probable to occur in highest abundances at median latitudes within its Texas range. Despite known microhabitat preferences of the species, instream habitat characteristics (e.g., canopy coverage, depth, sinuosity) did not strongly influence its occupancy or abundance. Spatial dynamics of the occupancy and abundance of the species in Texas are influenced by landscape features more than local habitat. These results further corroborate the importance of watershed land cover to aquatic organisms, and our methods provide a standardized template for monitoring and quantifying important demographic parameters of the species across multiple locations while accounting for imperfect detection.

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Influence of Wetland and Landscape Characteristics on Freshwater Turtle Relative Abundance and Movement Patterns in West Virginia, USA

Becker,

Brown,

Anderson

2024

Wetlands

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Wetland management practices often alter habitat characteristics to improve the function of the wetland (e.g., removing emergent vegetation for aesthetics or dredging for fish stocking), potentially at the cost of reducing habitat quality for wetland-dependent species such as freshwater turtles. We identified wetland and surrounding landscape characteristics related to painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) and snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) relative abundance and snapping turtle movement among wetlands. We surveyed turtles at 29 wetland sites (0.04–1.71 ha) in a mixed-use watershed in north-central West Virginia, USA, where hardwood forests and wetlands have been heavily fragmented by agriculture and roads. We also applied radio transmitters to 33 adult snapping turtles (17 females and 16 males) across 17 wetlands. Snapping turtle relative abundance was best estimated with mean substrate depth, mean wetland depth, and minimum distance from roads. Painted turtle relative abundance was best estimated with the null model. We documented movement among wetlands for 22 snapping turtles (67%), including 10 females and 12 males. The probability of inter-wetland movement decreased with increased minimum distance from wetlands. Our results suggest that the focal turtle species readily used shallow, mucky wetlands with deep substrate and that increasing the density of wetlands could increase snapping turtle population connectivity. Managers could consider restoring a diversity of wetland types that result in reduced travel distance between wetlands and that collectively have characteristics conducive to multiple species.

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Influence of landscape condition on relative abundance and body condition of two generalist freshwater turtle species

Cited by 7 publications

References 109 publications

Integrating 3D models with morphometric measurements to improve volumetric estimates in marine mammals

Integrating 3D models with morphometric measurements to improve volumetric estimates in marine mammals

Detection, occupancy, and abundance of the alligator snapping turtle in Texas

Influence of Wetland and Landscape Characteristics on Freshwater Turtle Relative Abundance and Movement Patterns in West Virginia, USA

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