Download or read book The Role of Gopher Tortoise Burrows Gopherus Polyphemus in Shaping Herpetofaunal Diversity in the Sandhills of Southeast Georgia written by Amy Dawn Gaskell and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author's abstract: Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are known to have large numbers of invertebrate and vertebrate species associated with their burrows. I compared herpetofaunal species diversity and richness at Gopher Tortoise burrows and random points not near burrows on a sandhill in Southeast Georgia. I also compared habitat structure between burrows and random arrays. Trapping took place from March 1, 2007 to August 30, 2007. Species richness for all months combined was significantly higher at Gopher Tortoise burrows than random arrays (Random = 3.60 " 0.43, Burrow = 5.20 " 0.57). Species diversity was not significantly different between burrow and random arrays; however, there was a trend showing higher diversity at burrows (Random = 0.67 " 0.08, Burrow = 0.78 " 0.06). Species diversity and richness were analyzed separately for each month. Species diversity and richness did not differ between months (March August) or between arrays. Percent canopy cover and plant species richness were significantly lower at Gopher Tortoise burrows, and there was a trend towards more ground cover at burrows as well. The results of this study show that species may take refuge in the burrow of the Gopher Tortoise, especially when temperatures are relatively low. This study has provided some evidence to support the status of the Gopher Tortoise as a keystone species in sandhill habitats.
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 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 Gopher Tortoise written by Ray E. Ashton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-08-28 with total page 73 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.
Download or read book Spatial Ecology of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Coastal Sand Dune Habitat written by Anthony Yin Kun Lau and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Coastal sand dunes may serve as short-term alternative recipient sites for Gopher Tortoises affected by human development.
Download or read book Population Biology of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Southeast Georgia written by Douglas N. Jones and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 200 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 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:
Download or read book Population Biology of the Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus in Southeast Georgia written by Douglas N. Jones and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 0 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 Species Profile Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus on Military Installations in the Southeastern United States written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 39 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is the only tortoise that occurs east of the Mississippi River. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has separated the species into two main populations. The western population (southwest Mississippi and southeast Louisiana) is Federally listed as threatened; the eastern population, which occurs in southern Alabama and Georgia, extreme southwestern South Carolina, and most of Florida, is a former candidate for listing as threatened. Gopher tortoises occupy a wide range of open, upland habitats with a well-drained, deep sandy substrate, primarily longleaf pine-xerophytic oak woodlands (sandhills). They have been documented on several military installations in the Southeast. This report is one of a series of 'Species Profiles' being developed for threatened, endangered, and sensitive species inhabiting southeastern United States plant communities. The work is being conducted as part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP). The report is designed to supplement information provided in plant community management reports for major United States plant communities found on military installations. Information provided on the gopher tortoise includes status, life history and ecology, habitat requirements, impacts and cause of decline, management and protection, and inventory and monitoring.
Download or read book Species and Habitat Interactions of the Gopher Tortoise written by Christopher Paul Catano and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Species-species and species-habitat interactions have been demonstrated to be important in influencing diversity across a variety of ecosystems. Despite generalities in the importance of these interactions, appropriate mechanisms to explain them are absent in many systems. In sandhill systems of the southeast U.S., gopher tortoises have been hypothesized to be a crucial species in the maintenance of diversity and function. However, the mechanisms and magnitude in which they influence their communities and habitats have rarely been empirically quantified. I examined how habitat structure influences tortoise abandonment of burrows and how tortoise densities influence non-volant vertebrate community diversity. Tortoise burrow abandonment is directly influenced by canopy closure, with each percent increase in canopy cover relating to a ~2% increase in the probability of burrow abandonment. In addition, tortoise burrow density was positively correlated with diversity and evenness, but not species richness. This influence was directly proportional to burrow density, supporting a dominance role for this species and rejecting the commonly asserted keystone species mechanism. I also quantified the influence of tortoises in influencing diversity relative to other environmental and habitat variables. Through this research, I have demonstrated that disturbance and habitat structure are important, but diversity responds most to density of burrows in the habitat. These findings demonstrate the intricate relationships interacting to maintaining diversity in sandhill systems. In particular, habitat change leading to declines of gopher tortoises may have drastic negative impacts on vertebrate species diversity.
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 Habitat Assessment for Gopher Tortoise Gopherus Polyphemus and Grassland Birds in South Mississippi written by Nathan Andrew Stukey and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I studied eight habitat types of south Mississippi from 2009-2010 to examine habitat conditions and faunal communities associated with the presence of gopher tortoise burrows (Gopherus polyphemus). Field methods included burrow surveys, vegetation sampling, mound counts, and point count surveys. Active tortoise burrow presence was influenced by percent coverage of bare ground, native legumes, grass-like plants, basal area, overstory canopy, and woody plants. Fire ant mound densities were influenced by percent coverage of overstory canopy cover, bare ground, grass-like vegetation, and woody plants. Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) and Bachman’s sparrow (Peucaea aestivalis) were detected more frequently in longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) dominated habitats supporting gopher tortoises. My findings will be used to address the paucity of information related to gopher tortoise conservation on private and public lands and identify potential areas for inclusion in conservation initiatives supporting longleaf pine restoration or gopher tortoise conservation in the southeastern lower coastal plain.
Download or read book A Comparison of Movements and Burrow Usage Between Indigenous and Relocated Gopher Tortoises Gopherus Polyphemus in a Fall Line Sandhills Community written by Dorinda Morpeth and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Modeling Burrow Choice in Gopherus Polyphemus written by Christopher Olbrych and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gopher tortoise populations, declining due to habitat fragmentation and degradation, are in need of revised management practices that take into account the individual site’s needs and limitations. The site of concern in this research is the Greenway in Jupiter, FL, which is suffering habitat degradation due to overgrowth driven by a lack of controlled burns or alternative management methods on site. A simple econometric model is developed characterizing the effects of environmental factors that influence the occupancy of burrows by gopher tortoises. A greater understanding of environmental factors affecting gopher tortoise habitat will allow land management practices to best meet the needs of this keystone species at the Greenway nature area.
