Spatial Ecology, Movements, and Habitat Selection of Clemmys guttata in a Temporally Dynamic Wetland System in North Carolina, USA.

Abstract

Turtle populations are in decline worldwide, requiring immediate conservation and management actions. For species with broad geographic ranges that cover diverse environmental contexts, region-specific information on declining species could inform more targeted management plans. I examined the ecology of a Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) population in a temporally dynamic wetland system in the Southeastern Plains ecoregion of North Carolina. Turtles selected forested wetlands and streams while avoiding open wetlands and river habitats, but used terrestrial habitats minimally and randomly. Turtles responded to wetland drying by remaining in wetlands and maintaining modest levels of activity during short-duration drying events (< 1 mo), but moved very little during longer droughts (7 mo). Turtles had prolonged active seasons (February-October) as long as wetlands and streams were flooded, with movement rates peaking in late spring at 23.6 ± 3.7 m/d (mean ± standard error). Turtles had large home ranges (14.1 ± 4.3 ha) that often included multiple local stream networks used as movement corridors between forested wetland patches and as activity centers when wetlands dried. I suggest that conservation plans for C. guttata include large management areas that protect a network of streams and adjacent forested swamps in the Southeastern Plains and perhaps other lowland ecoregions in the Southeastern U.S. Because terrestrial habitats were not used for extended refuge during drought, certain low-impact land uses in adjacent terrestrial areas are not likely to negatively impact C. guttata populations, but terrestrial forests would still be important in maintaining overland travel corridors.