{"id":{"repo_id":"utc","oai_identifier":"oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1643"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/utc/oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1643","repository":{"repo_id":"utc","name":"University of Tennessee - Chattanooga","base_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"The spatial ecology of the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a fragmented landscape in Southeast Tennessee, Hamilton County","abstract":"The landscape throughout the range of the Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) has been altered significantly since the late 1880s by habitat fragmentation. In this study, the spatial ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the Eastern Box turtle in contrasting habitat types are investigated. Eastern Box turtles had home ranges that averaged (mean = 3.77 ± 2.82 ha, minimum convex polygon) in size among individuals. There was no significant difference between mean annual home range size and movement patterns between males and females; however, home range size for male turtles was larger during the summer versus spring activity season (P = 0.02). At the landscape level, turtles used eastern deciduous forest and successional habitats and they selected sites with ample ground and canopy cover. These findings can be used to better conserve the habitats and populations of the Eastern Box turtle.","abstract_html":"The landscape throughout the range of the Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) has been altered significantly since the late 1880s by habitat fragmentation. In this study, the spatial ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the Eastern Box turtle in contrasting habitat types are investigated. Eastern Box turtles had home ranges that averaged (mean = 3.77 ± 2.82 ha, minimum convex polygon) in size among individuals. There was no significant difference between mean annual home range size and movement patterns between males and females; however, home range size for male turtles was larger during the summer versus spring activity season (P = 0.02). At the landscape level, turtles used eastern deciduous forest and successional habitats and they selected sites with ample ground and canopy cover. These findings can be used to better conserve the habitats and populations of the Eastern Box turtle.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dillard, Mark"],"institution":"University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Wilson, Thomas P.","Aborn, David A.; Reynolds, Bradley R.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":null,"date_issued":"","date_published":null,"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:28Z","subjects":["Box turtle","Home range (Animal geography)"],"languages":["English","eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/490","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Wilson, Thomas P.","Aborn, David A.; Reynolds, Bradley R.","College of Arts and Sciences"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dillard, Mark"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2016-12-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"]},{"key":"dc:relation","label":"Dc Relation","values":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Masters theses","Text"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Box turtle","Home range (Animal geography)"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English","eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/490"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The landscape throughout the range of the Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) has been altered significantly since the late 1880s by habitat fragmentation. In this study, the spatial ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the Eastern Box turtle in contrasting habitat types are investigated. Eastern Box turtles had home ranges that averaged (mean = 3.77 ± 2.82 ha, minimum convex polygon) in size among individuals. There was no significant difference between mean annual home range size and movement patterns between males and females; however, home range size for male turtles was larger during the summer versus spring activity season (P = 0.02). At the landscape level, turtles used eastern deciduous forest and successional habitats and they selected sites with ample ground and canopy cover. These findings can be used to better conserve the habitats and populations of the Eastern Box turtle."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The spatial ecology of the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a fragmented landscape in Southeast Tennessee, Hamilton County"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Wilson, Thomas P.","Aborn, David A.; Reynolds, Bradley R.","College of Arts and Sciences"],"dc:creator":["Dillard, Mark"],"dc:date":["2016-12-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["Dept. of Biological and Environmental Sciences","M. S.; A thesis submitted to the faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Science."],"dc:description.abstract":["The landscape throughout the range of the Eastern Box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) has been altered significantly since the late 1880s by habitat fragmentation. In this study, the spatial ecology and seasonal movement patterns of the Eastern Box turtle in contrasting habitat types are investigated. Eastern Box turtles had home ranges that averaged (mean = 3.77 ± 2.82 ha, minimum convex polygon) in size among individuals. There was no significant difference between mean annual home range size and movement patterns between males and females; however, home range size for male turtles was larger during the summer versus spring activity season (P = 0.02). At the landscape level, turtles used eastern deciduous forest and successional habitats and they selected sites with ample ground and canopy cover. These findings can be used to better conserve the habitats and populations of the Eastern Box turtle."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/490"],"dc:language":["English","eng"],"dc:publisher":["University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","Chattanooga (Tenn.)"],"dc:relation":["Masters Theses and Doctoral Dissertations"],"dc:rights":["https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en"],"dc:subject":["Box turtle","Home range (Animal geography)"],"dc:title":["The spatial ecology of the Eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a fragmented landscape in Southeast Tennessee, Hamilton County"],"dc:type":["Masters theses","Text"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:46:28Z"}