The Effects of Relocation on Home Ranges in Eastern Box Turtles

Megan C. Henriquez,1 Erin Baker,2 Michael Rubbo, Ph.D.,2 and J. Alan Clark, Ph.D., J.D.1

Background

Methods

Results • Hypothesis 1: Rejected. No difference between

resident and relocated home ranges

o Possibly due to small sample size; trend in

predicted direction

• Hypothesis 2: Supported. Home ranges for males and

females were similar

o Results are consistent with an earlier study of

relocated Eastern Box Turtles (Hester et al. 2008)

• Hypothesis 3: Rejected. Resident and relocated turtles

traveled similar distances

o Resident turtles traveled more in a smaller area,

perhaps because of familiarity with territory

o Relocated turtles traveled more in a wider area,

perhaps to find suitable habitat

Discussion

1Fordham University, Bronx, NY, 2Teatown Lake Reservation, Ossining, NY

• Eastern Box Turtles are 1 of 5 subspecies of U.S. Box

Turtles. This long-lived (100+ years), slowly

reproducing, terrestrial turtle has a hinged plastron that

allows it to completely close its shell against predators. (Dodd 2002)

• Habitat loss and fragmentation caused by urbanization

and collisions with vehicles negatively affect Box

Turtles, which are classified as vulnerable by IUCN. (van

Dijk 2011)

• Box Turtles are often brought to Teatown Lake

Reservation in Ossining, NY where they are

rehabilitated, released, and tracked as part of a multi-

year study.

• An earlier study of non-hibernating, relocated Eastern

Box Turtles in North Carolina found relocated turtles

had larger home ranges, traveled further, and had

higher mortality than resident turtles. (Hester et al. 2008)

• Turtles tracked for 6 weeks post

nesting using radio telemetry

• ArcGIS used to plot GPS points

• Calculated

oHome range using minimum convex

polygon method

o Total distance traveled

• Compared resident and relocated

turtles

• Compared males and females

.

Hypotheses:

1. Relocated turtles will have larger home ranges than

residents

2. Relocated turtles will travel further than residents

3. Both sexes will have similar home range sizes

Next Steps

• Track current turtles for rest of season and future years

• Continue to release turtles to increase sample size

• Collect and pool data from previous years

• Evaluate data on hibernacula location

Acknowledgements Special thanks to Suzanne Macey, Calder Summer

Undergraduate Research Program, and all the staff at

Teatown Lake Reservation n = 3 n = 3 n = 3

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/photosmultimedia/Wildlife.htm http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/45/EasternBoxTurtleMale.jpg

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

Resident Male Resident Female

Relocated Male

Relocated Female

Ho

me

Ran

ge (

m2 )

Male and Female Home Range Comparison

0

400

800

1200

1600

Resident Relocated

Dis

tan

ce T

rave

led

(m)

Total Distance Traveled Comparison

n = 6 n = 6 0

20000

40000

60000

80000

Resident Relocated

Ho

me

Ra

ng

e (

m2)

Home Range Comparison

n = 6 n = 6

n = 3 n = 3 n = 3 n = 3

P = 0.19 P = 0.69

References Hester, J.M., Price, S.J., and Dorcas, M.E. 2008. Effects of relocation on

movements and home ranges of Eastern Box Turtles. Journal of Wildlife

Management 72:772–777.

van Dijk, P.P. 2011. Terrapene carolina. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of

Threatened Species. Version 2012.1. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on

11 October 2012.

Dodd Jr., K.C. 2002. North American Box Turtles: A Natural History.

Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Home Range Comparison

Resident

Resident

Resident

Relocated