The effects of drought and fire in the extirpation of an abundant semi-aquatic turtle from a lacustrine environment in the southwestern USA

Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Quillman, Mari; Zitt, Brian; Schroeder, Adam; Green, David Earl; Yackulic, Charles B.; Gibbons, Paul; Goode, Eric V.

doi:10.1051/kmae/2017008

Cited by 19 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Reynolds (2018) concluded, The presence of an articulated skeleton of Actinemys pallida at Salt Springs suggests that occasional overflow from Silver Lake provided a moist or riparian route for turtles to reach Salt Springs. WPTs are semi-aquatic (Ernst and Lovich 2009), and capable of spending up to half the year in terrestrial habitats in non-desert environments to avoid environmental extremes (Bury 2012;Lovich et al 2017). However, they must have access to water to survive for longer periods.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Amargosa Creek flows between the Angeles National Forest and the Sierra Pelona Mountains that border the extreme western Mojave Desert. The head of Amargosa Creek is adjacent to the head of Castaic Creek where a larger population of WPTs existed at nearby Elizabeth Lake until it was extirpated by drought and fire (Lovich et al 2017). Piute Ponds receive treated wastewater and they are managed for recreation, including waterfowl hunting.…”

Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Western pond turtles in the Mojave Desert? A review of their past, present, and possible future

Lovich¹,

Jefferson²,

Reynolds³

et al. 2021

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The western pond turtle (WPT) was formerly considered a single species (Actinemys or Emys marmorata) that ranged from southern British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, México. More recently it was divided into a northern and a southern species. WPTs are found primarily in streams that drain into the Pacific Ocean, although scattered populations exist in endorheic drainages of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts. Populations in the Mojave Desert were long thought to be restricted to the Mojave River, but recently another population was documented in Piute Ponds, a terminal wetland complex associated with Amargosa Creek on Edwards Air Force Base. WPT fossils in the Mojave Desert are known from the Miocene to the Pleistocene. Recently, Pleistocene fossils have been found as far into the desert as Salt Springs, just south of Death Valley. The oldest fossil records suggest that WPTs were present in wetlands and drainages of the geological feature known as the Mojave block prior to the uplift of the Sierra Nevada Range about 8 Ma and prior to the ~ 3 Ma uplift of the Transverse Ranges. Archaeological records document use of turtles by Native Americans for food and cultural purposes 1,000 or more years ago at the Cronese Lakes on the lower Mojave River and Oro Grande on the upper river. The first modern publication documenting their presence in the Mojave River was 1861. Museum specimens were collected as early as 1937. These fossil and early literature records support the indigenous status of WPTs to the Mojave River. However, mtDNA-based genetic evidence shows that Mojave River turtles share an identical haplotype with turtles on the California coast. Limited nuclear data show some minor differences. Overdraft of water from the Mojave River for municipal and agricultural uses, urban development, and saltcedar expansion are threats to the continued survival of WPTs in the Mojave River.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Western pond turtles in the Mojave Desert? A review of their past, present, and possible future

Lovich¹,

Jefferson²,

Reynolds³

et al. 2021

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“…Many aquatic and semi-aquatic species adapted to southwestern and Mediterranean ecosystems are similarly at risk from reduced surface water availability, leading to reduced aquatic connectivity, recruitment, and survivorship (Jaeger et al, 2014;Jones et al, 2017;Leidy, Bogan, Neuhaus, Rosetti, & Carlson, 2016;Lovich et al, 2017;Montgomery et al, 2015). For species that burrow and forage in adjacent terrestrial systems, increased drought stress can further affect overwinter survival and prey availability due to reduced soil moisture and associated plant and animal mortality (Lovich et al, 2017;Venturas et al, 2016). The arroyo toad serves as a model for understanding semi-aquatic species' responses to long-term climatic and hydrologic changes and the potential loss of biological integrity from these unique Mediterranean stream systems.…”

Section: Hydrologic Stochasticity Biological Responses and Droughmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longevity and population age structure of the arroyo southwestern toad (Anaxyrus californicus) with drought implications

Fisher

Brehme

Hathaway

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The arroyo southwestern toad is a specialized and federally endangered amphibian endemic to the coastal plains and mountains of central and southern California and northwestern Baja California. It is largely unknown how long these toads live in natural systems, how their population demographics vary across occupied drainages, and how hydrology affects age structure. We used skeletochronology to estimate the ages of adult arroyo toads in seven occupied drainages with varying surface water hydrology in southern California. We processed 179 adult toads with age estimates between 1 and 6 years. Comparisons between skeletochronological ages and known ages of PIT tagged toads showed that skeletochronology likely underestimated toad age by up to 2 years, indicating they may live to 7 or 8 years, but nonetheless major patterns were evident. Arroyo toads showed sexual size dimorphism with adult females reaching a maximum size of 12 mm greater than males. Population age structure varied among the sites. Age structure at sites with seasonally predictable surface water was biased toward younger individuals, which indicated stable recruitment for these populations. Age structures at the ephemeral sites were biased toward older individuals with cohorts roughly corresponding to higher rainfall years. These populations are driven by surface water availability, a stochastic process, and thus more unstable. Based on our estimates of toad ages, climate predictions of extreme and prolonged drought events could mean that the number of consecutive dry years could surpass the maximum life span of toads making them vulnerable to extirpation, especially in ephemeral freshwater systems. Understanding the relationship between population demographics and hydrology is essential for predicting species resilience to projected changes in weather and rainfall patterns. The arroyo toad serves as a model for understanding potential responses to climatic and hydrologic changes in Mediterranean stream systems. We recommend development of adaptive management strategies to address these threats.

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“…The additive and interactive effects of these threats (e.g. drought and fire) can have particularly negative consequences for wildlife populations in the arid southwest region of North America (Lovich et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High female desert tortoise mortality in the western Sonoran Desert during California’s epic 2012-2016 drought

Lovich

Puffer

Cummings

et al. 2023

Endang. Species. Res.

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We conducted population surveys for desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii at 2 nearby sites in the western Sonoran Desert of California, USA, from 2015-2018, during the driest ongoing 22 yr period (2000-2021) in the southwestern USA in over 1200 yr. We hypothesized that drought-induced mortality would be female-biased due to water and energy losses attributable to egg production during protracted periods of resource limitation. At the higher-elevation, cooler, wetter Cottonwood site from 2015-2016, the sex ratio of live adult tortoises was biased toward males and the sex ratio of tortoises estimated to have died during the intensified drought conditions from 2012-2016 was essentially even. At the lower-elevation, warmer, drier Orocopia site from 2017-2018, the sex ratio of live adult tortoises was biased toward males and the sex ratio of tortoises with estimated times of death from 2012-2016 was biased toward females. High female mortality at the Orocopia site may have resulted from the interaction of drought effects and the bet-hedging reproductive strategy of tortoises wherein they continue to produce clutches of eggs in drought years. Annual reproductive output results in an estimated loss of up to 13.5% of female tortoise body mass including over 0.20 l of water. Combined with dehydration during severe droughts, these losses may compromise their ability to survive droughts lasting more than 2 yr. The low tortoise density and high mortality of females observed may reflect reduced survival of tortoises near the southern edge of their range due to climate change, including protracted and intensified droughts.

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The effects of drought and fire in the extirpation of an abundant semi-aquatic turtle from a lacustrine environment in the southwestern USA

Cited by 19 publications

References 76 publications

Western pond turtles in the Mojave Desert? A review of their past, present, and possible future

Western pond turtles in the Mojave Desert? A review of their past, present, and possible future

Longevity and population age structure of the arroyo southwestern toad (Anaxyrus californicus) with drought implications

High female desert tortoise mortality in the western Sonoran Desert during California’s epic 2012-2016 drought

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