Settlement pattern of tortoises translocated into the wild: a key to evaluate population reinforcement success
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Published source details
Pille F., Caron S., Bonnet X., Deleuze S., Busson D., Etien T., Girard F. & Ballouard J.M. (2018) Settlement pattern of tortoises translocated into the wild: a key to evaluate population reinforcement success. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27, 437-457.
Published source details Pille F., Caron S., Bonnet X., Deleuze S., Busson D., Etien T., Girard F. & Ballouard J.M. (2018) Settlement pattern of tortoises translocated into the wild: a key to evaluate population reinforcement success. Biodiversity and Conservation, 27, 437-457.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Rehabilitate and release injured or accidentally caught individuals: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles Action Link |
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Translocate reptiles away from threats: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles Action Link |
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Rehabilitate and release injured or accidentally caught individuals: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles
A controlled, before-and-after study in 2012–2016 in mixed scrub and woodland in south-eastern France (Pille et al. 2018) found that Hermann tortoises Testudo hermanni hermanni that were rehabilitated and translocated had similar survival over two years compared to wild tortoises, and tortoises released in spring established home ranges more quickly than tortoises released in autumn. Average survival of rehabilitated, translocated tortoises (83–86%, 24 individuals) was similar to wild tortoises (93–100%, 31 individuals) in the two years after release. Autumn-released rehabilitated, translocated tortoises took longer to establish a home range (258 days) than those released in spring (139 days). Rehabilitated, translocated tortoises settled similar distances from release locations regardless of season of release (see original paper for details). In total 24 rehabilitated (with various injuries or rescued from urban developments) Herman tortoises were translocated in April 2013 (12 individuals) and October 2013 (12 individuals) and radio tracked. Twenty resident tortoises and 11 from another population were also radio tracked in the release area, and six were tracked from a separate population in 2012–2015.
(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)
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Translocate reptiles away from threats: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles
A controlled, before-and-after study in 2012–2016 in mixed scrub and woodland in south-eastern France (Pille et al. 2018) found that Hermann tortoises Testudo hermanni hermanni rescued from developments that were rehabilitated and translocated had similar survival over two years compared to wild tortoises, and tortoises released in spring established home ranges more quickly than tortoises released in autumn. Over two years after release, average survival of rehabilitated, translocated tortoises (83–86%, 24 individuals) was similar to wild tortoises (93–100%, 31 individuals). Autumn-released rehabilitated, translocated tortoises took longer to establish home ranges (258 days) than those released in spring (139 days). Rehabilitated, translocated tortoises settled similar distances from release locations regardless of season of release (see original paper for details). In total, 24 rehabilitated (with various injuries or rescued from urban developments) Herman tortoises were translocated in April 2013 (12 individuals) and October 2013 (12 individuals) and radio tracked. Twenty resident tortoises and 11 from another population were also radio tracked in the release area, and six were tracked from a separate population in 2012–2015.
(Summarised by: Katie Sainsbury)
