7-days of FREE Audio papers, translation & more with Prime
7-days of FREE Prime access
7-days of FREE Audio papers, translation & more with Prime
7-days of FREE Prime access
https://doi.org/10.2744/ccb-1403.1
Copy DOIJournal: Chelonian Conservation and Biology | Publication Date: Dec 31, 2020 |
Citations: 1 |
The movement of nonindigenous aquatic species into new river systems has the potential to negatively impact native species and/or their environments. The construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW) in the 1970s and 1980s directly linked 2 evolutionarily distinct aquatic communities, and faunal exchange across the TTW has been documented in both fishes and freshwater mussels. However, to date there have been no recognized exchanges of the turtle fauna between the Tennessee and Tombigbee river systems. Herein we document the exchange of Ouachita map turtles (Graptemys ouachitensis), a native of the Tennessee River system, and Alabama map turtles (Graptemys pulchra), a native of the Tombigbee River system, each occurring outside its native ranges in the opposite river system likely via dispersal in the TTW. For G. ouachitensis, we observed a range displacement of ∼ 55 river kilometers (rkm) south from the nearest specimen records in the Tennessee River system into upper Bay Springs Lake of the Tombigbee River drainage. Graptemys pulchra had a range displacement northward of ∼ 137 rkm from the nearest specimen record in the Tombigbee River system to Pickwick Lake of the Tennessee River drainage. For the latter, it seems most parsimonious that G. pulchra historically occurred farther north than the specimen record suggests. Otherwise, individuals would have had to execute movements through and/or around 4 locks and dams, which seems less probable. We recommend that additional monitoring of nonnative turtles should be conducted to document existing range and potential range expansions (inclusive of Graptemys nigrinoda, blackknobbed sawback) while studies to assess genetic introgression among these closely related species are warranted.
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.