Download or read book Availability and Quality of Vegetation Affects Reproduction of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Improved Pastures written by Anna Louise Hathaway and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Burrow surveys indicate that at least some hatchlings are able to successfully leave the nest by the presence of hatchling size burrows scattered throughout the fields, but the ratio of juveniles to eggs laid is especially low. Survivorship of eggs, hatchlings and juveniles may be too low to support a sustainable Gopher Tortoise population in improved pasture possibly because of lack of adequate forage, burrow compaction by cows, lack of available natural shelter material for protection from desiccation, and the reduced ability of movement in thick pasture grasses, especially by hatchling and yearling tortoises.
Download or read book Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Recovery Plan written by Wendell A. Neal and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Effect of Forage Quality on Reproduction and Growth of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Southeast Georgia written by Virginia K. Perdue and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Determining Habitat Preferences of the Juvenile Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Using Spatially Modeled Vegetation on a Central Florida Sandhill written by Kristan Marie Nicole Raymond and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT: Public and private conservation areas are becoming increasingly important to the continued survival of the gopher tortoise, making it imperative that land managers know the specific habitat requirements of juvenile gopher tortoises because recruitment is key to species persistence. Little is currently known about environmental factors that underlie hatchling and juvenile survival and recruitment in gopher tortoise populations. Because of the short duration and distance of juvenile tortoise foraging journeys, food availability, thermoregulatory conditions, and refugia near the burrow may considerably affect juvenile growth and survival. This two-year study of a central Florida sandhill examines the spatial relationship between juvenile gopher tortoise burrows and the surrounding habitat. Gopher tortoise burrow positions, activity, and width were recorded in four complete surveys of the 4-hectare study area. Coincident with three of the burrow surveys, vegetation and structural habitat characteristics, such as forb and canopy cover, were surveyed in a uniform grid design. Vegetation cover was reclassified using habitat suitability functions (HSFs) derived from qualitative literature values and combined into habitat suitability indices (HSIs) to model the relationships between habitat variables and the likelihood of juvenile gopher tortoise presence. Chi-squared tests and spatial point pattern analysis were used to validate and identify well-forming models. In general, the best performing HSI models for the juvenile gopher tortoise were those that incorporated all three gopher tortoise life requisites in a compensatory relationship (geometric mean): thermoregulation (total high canopy, bare ground, or litter), predation (oak mid-canopy), and food (forb or wiregrass). The models could be improved by using the observed relative abundance of juvenile burrows in each vegetation cover class to modify the HSFs. These methods will help identify habitat characteristics associated with active juvenile gopher tortoise burrows that can be used by public and private land managers to improve existing tortoise habitat and to identify high-quality habitat for future preserves.
Download or read book The Effects of Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Translocation on Movements Reproductive Activity and Body Condition of Resident and Translocated Individuals in Central Florida written by Susannah Christina Riedl and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ABSTRACT: Human-caused destruction of xeric habitats in Florida that support gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus Daudin) is occurring at a rapid rate. One conservation strategy that has been used for numerous taxa is translocation. The effects of translocation on the health, reproductive activity, and movements of translocated and resident telemetered individuals was evaluated for a population of gopher tortoises in central-Florida from 2001 to 2004. Only one of the 13 individuals released left the site during the study. The home range estimates of resident individuals were not significantly different before and after the release of the translocated individuals on the site, and all mean home ranges fit within the range of estimates reported in the literature for natural populations of gopher tortoises. Habitat use of several individual resident gopher tortoises was significantly different after the translocation events. The degree that the home ranges of the residents were overlapped by other individuals in the study was not significantly different. The spatial locations of the home ranges of resident and translocated individuals were significantly different. There was evidence of reproduction for both resident and translocated females a year after the release of the translocates. The body condition of the resident individuals was higher at the end of the study relative to the start, although this may be explained by other factors. This study illustrates some of the problems associated with studies designed to assess translocation success, namely the lack adequate baseline data for the population and the challenge of balancing the sample sizes necessary for acceptable statistical power with the mechanics of translocation. The results of this study suggest that translocation is a potentially useful conservation strategy, although there are other potential consequences of translocation that need to be considered prior to its implementation.
Download or read book Home Range Reproduction and Habitat Characteristics of the Female Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Southeast Georgia written by Maggie Jo Mitchell and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 97 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's abstract: The relationship among female gopher tortoise home range, size, reproduction, habitat characteristics and season were studied for a two-year period (May 2002-May 2004) on Fort Stewart Army Reserve (FSAR) in southeast Georgia. Tortoises were studied in four sectors or regions on Ft. Stewart that contain the longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem. Vegetation characteristics were consistent between the different areas that tortoises inhabited. Soil types were similar between areas and consisted of Blanton, Bonifay, Fuquay, Albany Sand, Chipley, Echaw, Centenary, Stilson and Tifton soil types. Vegetation, temperature, and rainfall data were collected and compared with female home range. Reproductive data were collected for the same females for three consecutive reproductive seasons (n=35). Yearly variation in reproductive output was observed within females but was not correlated with habitat characteristics or home range. Rainfall and temperature were monitored with a negative relationship observed between rainfall and reproduction. Female size was not correlated wiht home range. Home range was also not correlated with clutch size or habitat characteristics measured. Cumulative home range did tend to increase with study duration (one year vs. two-year).
Download or read book Effects of Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Disturbances on the Microenvironment and Vegetation of a Florida Sandhill written by Sue A. Kaczor and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Effects of Habitat Quality on Reproduction in Two Georgia Populations of Gopherus Polyphemus written by Jacqueline Entz and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 49 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in maternal investment by examining variation in the habitat structure and reproductive parameters for two populations of Gopherus polyphemus in Southeast GA. Both habitat structure and reproductive parameters for these populations are known from a previous study, thus this study expands upon the previous one and addresses four main questions. (1) Has habitat quality changed in the past ten years within and between population sites? (2) Could a change of habitat have affected female morphology or female reproductive parameters within or between populations? (3) Is female body size shaping egg size and/or clutch size for either population? (4) Are females providing equal resources to hatchlings and is hatchling growth potentially being modified by habitat quality affecting adult size and age to sexual maturity? Tortoises were captured by bucket trapping and hand trapping. Radio-graphs were used to obtain information about female body size, clutch size and egg size. In order to assess the effect of habitat quality on tortoises, hatchlings from both locations were reared under controlled, laboratory conditions. The hatchlings were measured bi-weekly to determine differences in growth. Results indicate that habitat quality for these two populations has not changed in the past fourteen years, indicating that this habitat is slow to change. In response to limited change in habitat quality, female body size and reproductive parameters have not changed. Female tortoises from one population produced significantly larger clutch sizes than the other, even when female body size was accounted for; this trend has been observed in many other Testudine species. When hatchling sizes were compared to other populations of G. polyphemus, the hatchling SCL seems consistent while the hatchling mass is variable. Thus, we believe that in Gopherus polyphemus female body size plays a small role in clutch size determination and no role on egg size determination. It is believed that G. polyphemus is minimizing hatchling size (SCL) in order to maximize clutch size and those females with access to more resources can supply more yolk to developing embryos. When hatchlings from both populations were provided with equal resources they grew at similar rates, indicating that the poorer quality habitat at GLS leads to a slower growth rate. Therefore, habitat quality is playing a major role in tortoise growth rates and reproduction. Based on these results, conservation efforts are needed to maintain healthy tortoise populations need to address habitat quality in development of management plans.
Download or read book Reintroduction of Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus to Reclaimed Phosphate Land written by Laurie Ann Macdonald and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Environmental Effects on Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Burrows written by Ron Christian Sambeli and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 34 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a keystone species that provides a habitat for hundreds of other animal species. While environmental temperatures may fluctuate, gopher tortoise burrows maintain a fairly constant temperature. This study examines data collected from 50 burrows found in Abacoa Jupiter Greenway range VIa. Variables considered when analyzing the data include weather conditions, burrow location, and whether the temperature was measured from the air, the burrow's apron, or from within the burrow. The results were compared to previous research conducted on gopher tortoises.
Download or read book The Effects of Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Herbivory on Plant Community Composition and Seed Germination and the Effects of Gut Passage on the Germinability of Seeds written by Jason C. Richardson and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 72 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Attempts to quantify the effects of non-avian reptiles on plants and plant communities through folivory and frugivory is lacking, despite the prevalence of some form of herbivory in many non-avian reptile groups.
Download or read book Effects of Soil Disturbance by Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus on Vegetation Structure and Composition in a Pine oak Sandhills Community written by Tracey Dianne Tuberville and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Orientation of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Daudin written by Eugene Vincent Gourley and published by Sagwan Press. This book was released on 2018-02-08 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Download or read book Reproduction and Growth in Relocated and Resident Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus on Reclaimed Phosphate mined Lands written by Christine R. Small and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Seasonal Aspects of the Reproductive Biology of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus written by Robert Wayne Taylor and published by . This book was released on 1982 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Demography and Reproductive Biology of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Mississippi written by Kelley Renee Smith and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 106 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Gopher Tortoise written by Ray E. Ashton and published by Pineapple Press Inc. This book was released on 2004 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Full-color book for children ages 10 and up. Details the life of the gopher tortoise and how it is tied in with other animals. Also discusses how the encroachment into the gopher tortoise's habitat is affecting the environment and the tortoise.
