On the Road Again: Assessing the Use of Roadsides as Wildlife Corridors for Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus)
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Published source details
Rautsaw R.M., Martin S.A., Lanctot K., Vincent B.A., Bolt M.R., Seigel R.A. & Parkinson C.L. (2018) On the Road Again: Assessing the Use of Roadsides as Wildlife Corridors for Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus). Journal of Herpetology, 52, 136-144.
Published source details Rautsaw R.M., Martin S.A., Lanctot K., Vincent B.A., Bolt M.R., Seigel R.A. & Parkinson C.L. (2018) On the Road Again: Assessing the Use of Roadsides as Wildlife Corridors for Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus Polyphemus). Journal of Herpetology, 52, 136-144.
Actions
This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Translocate adult or juvenile reptiles: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles Action Link |
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Translocate adult or juvenile reptiles: Tortoises, terrapins, side-necked & softshell turtles
A replicated study in 2016 on grassy roadside verges in east-central Florida, USA (Rautsaw et al. 2018) found that most gopher tortoises Gopherus polyphemus translocated short distances did not attempt to go back to their capture location. Only one of 13 translocated tortoises returned to its capture location (after one day in a single 2,058 m movement). All other translocated tortoises remained under vegetation on or near to the roadside verges where they were released and dug burrows (no data provided, see paper for details). Six tortoises (4 females, 2 males) were captured from inland habitats and seven (2 females, 5 males) from coastal habitat were translocated 2–4 km to a roadside corridor during summer 2016. The tortoises were radio tagged and tracked daily during the summer months (approximately 52 tracking events/tortoise) before recapture and return to their original location.
(Summarised by: Maggie Watson, Katie Sainsbury)
