Activity Patterns, Home Range, and Microhabitat Selection of a Terrestrial Turtle (Rhinoclemmys rubida perixantha) in a Tropical Dry Forest

Turtles are in trouble worldwide, with nearly half recognized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as needing special protection. The Eurasian pond and Neotropical wood turtles of the family Geoemydidae are the most diverse turtles and comprise ¼ of all turtle species yet basic information on their natural history is lacking. Moreover, seasonal tropical dry forest (SDTF), where many geoemydids exist, is considered the most endangered ecosystem in the world. We investigated the activity patterns, home range size, and microhabitat selection of the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle (<em>Rhinoclemmys rubida perixantha</em>) in its SDTF habitat by tracking turtles with trail spools and radio telemetry. Our data show activity of <em>R. r. perixantha</em> was strongly associated with the intense dry season in the tropical deciduous forest, where turtles made fewer movements and walked significantly shorter distances (wet=46.8±3.6m, dry=21.4± 4m, P2=48.5, PThis was the first field study ever conducted on the endangered Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle in its native habitat.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year dc:date.available

2016

Author dc:creator

• Butterfield, Taggert G.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Daniel D. Beck
• Alison G. Scoville
• Andrés García Aguayo

• Geoemydidae
• Turtles
• Ecology
• Tropical Dry Forest
• Radiotelemtry
• Evolution
• Other Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
• Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/381

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.cwu.edu:etd-1379