The Habitat Ecology of Bog Turtles (clemmys Muhlenbergii) in Southwestern Virginia

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dc.contributor.authorCarter, Shawn L.en
dc.contributor.committeechairHaas, Carola A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMitchell, Joseph C.en
dc.contributor.committeememberParkhurst, James A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberStauffer, Dean F.en
dc.contributor.departmentFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:52:17Zen
dc.date.adate1997-08-07en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:52:17Zen
dc.date.issued1997-06-24en
dc.date.rdate1997-08-07en
dc.date.sdate1997-06-24en
dc.description.abstractI radiotracked 31 bog turtles (<i>Clemmys muhlenbergii</i>) from May 1995 to December 1996 at 4 study areas in southwestern Virginia. Radio location data were used to provide measures of annual activity, spatial distributions of animals, and habitat selection. The techniques I used in this study were as follows: distance measurements between consecutive locations, home range estimators (Minimum Convex Polygon [MCP] and cluster analysis), compositional analysis of habitat selection, and measurement of microhabitat variables. Results suggest a random pattern of movement by bog turtles within habitats. Average net movements recorded between consecutive locations (separated by < 7 days) during 1995 and 1996 measured 15 m and 20 m for females and 14 m and 23 m for males respectively. Eighty-six percent of all net movements (n = 824) were less than 30 m, whereas only 2% were greater than 100 m. In 1996, average home range sizes (95% MCP, 95% cluster) were 0.47 ha and 0.17 ha for females and were 0.57 ha and 0.13 ha for males. Bog turtles selected wet meadow areas and bulrush (<i>Scirpus</i> spp.) patches more than expected randomly and avoided dry meadow areas and streams. Turtles were located more frequently in mud (x = 24.3 cm) and water (x = 5.2 cm) than expected by random selection (P < 0.001). I found no differences between sexes in movement, home range, or habitat selection by bog turtles. Bog turtles select specialized habitat types and microhabitats within wetlands. Large-scale movements are infrequent and the risk of site isolation may be high if wetland habitat loss continues at historic rates. Future management should protect spatially-close sites which contain multiple habitat types, soft substrate, and pockets of water.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-7597-194728en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-7597-194728/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/36953en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartFull_Thesis_20-_20ETD.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectClemmys muhlenbergiien
dc.subjecthabitat selectionen
dc.subjecthome rangeen
dc.subjectisolationen
dc.subjectmovement patternsen
dc.subjectseasonal activityen
dc.subjectradiotelemetryen
dc.titleThe Habitat Ecology of Bog Turtles (<i>clemmys Muhlenbergii</i>) in Southwestern Virginiaen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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