Movement, Seasonal Activity, and Home Range of an Isolated Population ofGlyptemys muhlenbergii, Bog Turtle, in the Southern Appalachians

Abstract

Abstract Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Bog Turtle) is a small, federally threatened, aquatic turtle found only within a fragmented range in the eastern US. From 2005–2009, we studied the movements and home ranges of 9 adult turtles during the active season in an isolated population located in the Southern Appalachians. We used radio telemetry to locate turtles once a day for 1 week of every month, and then once a week for the rest of the month. We calculated average distance moved between locations for consecutive days. Movements of Bog Turtles averaged 13.00 m/d for females and 14.51 m/d for males with no significant difference between sexes. Movement distances were significantly shorter during the period following emergence from and the one preceding entrance into hibernation. We used 95% minimum convex polygon, 50% fixed-kernel density, and 95% fixed-kernel density to calculate home-range size. Home-range size was highly variable: the 95% kernel density estimation ranged from 0.21–2.43 ha and we detected no ...