Download or read book Lack of Plasticity in Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Nesting Behavior and Fecundity in a Translocated Population written by Jennifer N. DeSha and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 65 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's abstract: Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are a threatened, keystone species that play important roles in upland habitats throughout the southeastern United States. Climate change could have diverse and strong effects on the fecundity and population demographics of gopher tortoises, as they are long-lived reptiles that rely on environmental temperatures for thermoregulation and sex determination. I used a population of translocated gopher tortoises at Nokuse Plantation, located in the panhandle of Florida, as a common garden experiment to assess whether plasticity of several nesting behaviors (i.e., nest temperature, depth, and orientation) and components of fecundity (i.e., clutch size, egg size, hatching success) might compensate for changes in environmental conditions. I compared nest characteristics among translocated females (from across the state of Florida) and examined how multiple measures of environmental distance, such as difference in warm season temperature between the translocation and origin sites, impacted aspects of fecundity. I found that tortoises did not exhibit plasticity and did not adjust their nesting behaviors in response to novel conditions. Tortoises that originated from climates that were more dissimilar from that of the translocation site placed their nests at different locations within the burrow apron, under differing amounts of canopy cover, and at different depths. Environmental distance of translocation also impacted hatching success, although there was no direct impact of nest site selection on hatching success, suggesting that differences in hatching success due to female origin are more a consequence of physiology (e.g., developmental processes) than female behavior. Although there was a high degree of variability in the direction of the effect of environmental distance – i.e., whether tortoises from more or less similar climates had greater hatching success – these results may indicate a strong degree of local adaptation that is still apparent even several years after translocation. These findings suggest that gopher tortoises may not be resilient to impending environmental changes, and behavior plasticity should not be expected. Effects on nest site selection, incubation temperatures, and hatching success suggest that translocation guidelines should consider climate differences when selecting relocation sites.
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 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 Maternal Effects and Offspring Behavior written by Aaron Lee Holbrook and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Federally threatened in Mississippi, gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations within the state have strongly variable recruitment and are generally in decline. Hatching success is significantly lower in Mississippi than in any other part of the species' range, and most hatchlings die within the first year. There are few refuges where survival and hatching success is high. Here I compare two populations that differ in recruitment and offspring survival for differences in corticosterone. Corticosterone is a hormone that influences energy availability and is released in elevated levels during stressful events, like living in poor quality habitat. Prolonged corticosterone elevation can impede growth and immune responses and result in early death. To assess adult stress, I utilized leukocyte profiles as they are influenced by prolonged elevation of corticosterone. A viable yolk sampling technique was used to collect yolk samples to determine levels of yolk CORT. Hatchlings were then kept in captivity for two years to observe growth rates and burrowing behavior before being released and monitored via radiotelemetry to monitor dispersal and survival. I found no differences in adult stress or egg yolk CORT between populations. This suggests adults are not excessively stressed. Survival of hatchlings did not differ between sites. Captive-reared hatchlings were larger and may have better survival than similar aged wild hatchlings. Overall, the poor survival of gopher tortoises may be more strongly linked to environmental variables such as soil structure than physiological ones. --Page ii.
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 Investigation of Health in Translocated Gopher Tortoises gopherus Polyphemus at a Protected Site in Northwest Florida written by Rebecca Anne Cozad and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are state listed as threatened throughout most of their range (and federally protected in the western-most portion), but are still facing population declines as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. Throughout the state of Florida, an estimated 22,000 tortoises are in need of relocation as their habitat is being developed. Nokuse Plantation is a protected conservation preserve that has received nearly 4,500 of these translocated tortoises since 2006. From 2012 until 2015, 90 of these tortoises were found sick or dead at multiple enclosures on the property. Thus far, clinical signs and post-mortem findings suggest starvation as the immediate cause of death, but habitat analyses indicate these sites are suitable habitat with easy access to typical gopher tortoise forage plants. This project investigates the demographic, spatial, temporal, and environmental factors that are contributing to this mortality event and define potential predictors of mortality.
Download or read book Landscape Genetics and Conservation Genetics of Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus Across an Extensive Military Landscape written by Jeffrey Alan Jackson and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 62 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Identifying and maintaining genetic diversity in threatened and endangered species is something conservationists have recognized is of great importance. Genetic studies of federally threatened gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations located on Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center (Camp Shelby) in Hattiesburg, MS, is lacking in baseline information concerning genetic diversity and population structuring across the landscape. The objectives of this study were to assess the genetic variation of tortoises and how genetic variation is partitioned across Camp Shelby. Utilizing microsatellite DNA markers, genetic diversity was assessed and found to be low (H e = 0.25, H o = 0.22, avg. # alleles per locus = 1.97). When comparing the study population to populations in the eastern portions of the tortoise's range, alleles/locus (Georgia = 3.03, Florida = 3.40) and observed heterozygosity (Georgia = 0.42, Florida = 0.43) were significantly lower (P
Download or read book Population Structure and Nest Success of Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus and Vegetative Response to Prescribed Burning in Northeast Florida written by Kristine Constance Amatuli and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
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 Population Genetics and Microbial Communities of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus written by Daniel Lyle Gaillard and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Long term Population Ecology and Movement Patterns of Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus in Southwest Georgia written by Alexander David Wright and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation have led to an estimated 80% range-wide decline of gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) populations across the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Recently, the gopher tortoise was identified as a candidate for listing under the Endangered Species Act in the eastern part of its range. To support an adaptive landscape planning and decision framework for gopher tortoise conservation, I examined the population dynamics and movement patterns of four gopher tortoise populations on a large private reserve in southwestern Georgia, where tortoises were previously marked/recaptured from 1995-2000. It is critical to understand how tortoise populations vary in space and time at large spatial and temporal scales to protect a long-lived species, such as the gopher tortoise, into perpetuity. With further understanding of the long-term population ecology and movement patterns, we can better evaluate the roles of emigration and survival within populations to inform reserve design and decision analysis for the species' conservation.
Download or read book Homing Behavior and Orientation in the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus written by Kevin Michael Connor and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gopherus Polyphemus Gopher Tortoise Emergence Behavior written by and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 77 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book A Demographic Study of an Isolated Population of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus and an Assessment of a Relocation Procedure for Tortoises written by Terry J. Doonan and published by . This book was released on 1986 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus Populations on Naval Air Station Cecil Field Florida written by Terry J. Doonan and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Gopher Tortoise Habitat Management Strategies and Options written by Gopher Tortoise Council. Meeting and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
