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Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 41
Book Description
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) occurs in the southeastern Coastal Plain and has experienced widespread decline due to habitat loss and other human impacts. The largest remaining populations occur on private lands and military installations. Proper management at these sites will be critical to the success of the species. The goal of this study was to determine the response of gopher tortoises to forestry management practices commonly implemented in the management of the redcockaded woodpecker. We monitored habitat use of individual tortoises at four study sites with different ownership and management scenarios: Fort Gordon (military installation, winter burning), Savannah River Site (federal defense facility, winter burning, translocated population), Tillman Sand Ridge (state wildlife preserve, summer burning), and a private hunting preserve (no management). Habitat data were collected to characterize typical canopy and herbaceous vegetation of each site. Data were collected at active burrows; the anecdotal belief that tortoises select the most open habitat available was confirmed. The preferred habitat density appears to be in the range of 40 percent canopy cover, a value compatible with current woodpecker management guidelines. Results will be used to develop recommendations for the concurrent management of gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Author: Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 41
Book Description
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) occurs in the southeastern Coastal Plain and has experienced widespread decline due to habitat loss and other human impacts. The largest remaining populations occur on private lands and military installations. Proper management at these sites will be critical to the success of the species. The goal of this study was to determine the response of gopher tortoises to forestry management practices commonly implemented in the management of the redcockaded woodpecker. We monitored habitat use of individual tortoises at four study sites with different ownership and management scenarios: Fort Gordon (military installation, winter burning), Savannah River Site (federal defense facility, winter burning, translocated population), Tillman Sand Ridge (state wildlife preserve, summer burning), and a private hunting preserve (no management). Habitat data were collected to characterize typical canopy and herbaceous vegetation of each site. Data were collected at active burrows; the anecdotal belief that tortoises select the most open habitat available was confirmed. The preferred habitat density appears to be in the range of 40 percent canopy cover, a value compatible with current woodpecker management guidelines. Results will be used to develop recommendations for the concurrent management of gopher tortoises and red-cockaded woodpeckers.
Author: Cherie A. Keller Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
Aerial survey data (December-March, 1991-1998) including survey tracklines and right whale locations were entered into a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for comparing whale use of SST to availability based on search effort. Using Monte Carlo techniques, mean and standard deviation for SSTs and latitudes of whale-sightings were compared to sampling distributions derived from available SSTs and latitudes. From these data, it was concluded that the North Atlantic right whale uses SSTs and latitudes non-randomly. Broad-scale habitat selection for gopher tortoises was evaluated from the 2003 Land Cover/Land Use map (Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission). Based on land cover and ancillary data, potential gopher tortoise habitat was developed for northeast Florida.
Author: Ray E. Ashton Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield ISBN: 1561647810 Category : Juvenile Nonfiction Languages : en Pages : 73
Book Description
Full-color book for children ages 10 and up. Details the life of the gopher tortoise and how it is tied in with other animals. Also discusses how the encroachment into the gopher tortoise's habitat is affecting the environment and the tortoise.
Author: Duston R. Duffie Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 172
Book Description
Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus; hereinafter, tortoise) is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in the western portion of its range. Across the species’ range, approximately 70 % of potential habitat is privately owned, and these properties are often managed primarily for timber production. However, tortoise ecology on private, working forest landscapes remains poorly understood. To provide a better understanding of tortoise response to active forest management, I evaluated population demographics, movement ecology, and habitat selection of two tortoise populations: former Ben’s Creek Wildlife Management Area (BC) in Washington Parish, Louisiana and Perry County Gopher Tortoise Management Unit (PCGTMU) in Perry County, Mississippi. At BC, tortoises were generally clustered along utility rights-of- way and roadways. At PCGTMU, tortoises were clustered within forest stands with high quality soils. Low recruitment has been documented at BC for the last 25 years. However, PCGTMU appears to have a stable population with active recruitment.
Author: Ron Christian Sambeli Publisher: ISBN: Category : Gopher tortoise Languages : en Pages : 34
Book Description
The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a keystone species that provides a habitat for hundreds of other animal species. While environmental temperatures may fluctuate, gopher tortoise burrows maintain a fairly constant temperature. This study examines data collected from 50 burrows found in Abacoa Jupiter Greenway range VIa. Variables considered when analyzing the data include weather conditions, burrow location, and whether the temperature was measured from the air, the burrow's apron, or from within the burrow. The results were compared to previous research conducted on gopher tortoises.
Author: Kristan Marie Nicole Raymond Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
ABSTRACT: Public and private conservation areas are becoming increasingly important to the continued survival of the gopher tortoise, making it imperative that land managers know the specific habitat requirements of juvenile gopher tortoises because recruitment is key to species persistence. Little is currently known about environmental factors that underlie hatchling and juvenile survival and recruitment in gopher tortoise populations. Because of the short duration and distance of juvenile tortoise foraging journeys, food availability, thermoregulatory conditions, and refugia near the burrow may considerably affect juvenile growth and survival. This two-year study of a central Florida sandhill examines the spatial relationship between juvenile gopher tortoise burrows and the surrounding habitat. Gopher tortoise burrow positions, activity, and width were recorded in four complete surveys of the 4-hectare study area. Coincident with three of the burrow surveys, vegetation and structural habitat characteristics, such as forb and canopy cover, were surveyed in a uniform grid design. Vegetation cover was reclassified using habitat suitability functions (HSFs) derived from qualitative literature values and combined into habitat suitability indices (HSIs) to model the relationships between habitat variables and the likelihood of juvenile gopher tortoise presence. Chi-squared tests and spatial point pattern analysis were used to validate and identify well-forming models. In general, the best performing HSI models for the juvenile gopher tortoise were those that incorporated all three gopher tortoise life requisites in a compensatory relationship (geometric mean): thermoregulation (total high canopy, bare ground, or litter), predation (oak mid-canopy), and food (forb or wiregrass). The models could be improved by using the observed relative abundance of juvenile burrows in each vegetation cover class to modify the HSFs. These methods will help identify habitat characteristics associated with active juvenile gopher tortoise burrows that can be used by public and private land managers to improve existing tortoise habitat and to identify high-quality habitat for future preserves.
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Author: Cherie A. Keller
Author: Anthony Yin Kun Lau
Author: Wendell A. Neal
Author: Ray E. Ashton
Author: James A. Cox
Author: Duston R. Duffie
Author: Ron Christian Sambeli
Author: Noah J. Anderson
Author: Kristan Marie Nicole Raymond