Nesting Ecology and Hatching Success of the Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene carolina, on Long Island, New York

Abstract

Abstract While many aspects of the reproductive ecology of Eastern Box Turtles are well known, numerous gaps remain regarding inter-populational variation in clutch size, egg viability and clutch frequency, all vital components of population models. We collected data on nesting ecology of a dense Long Island population of Eastern Box Turtles for three years. Average clutch size was only 4.1 eggs/clutch, which is surprisingly low compared to a nearby population. Conversely, egg viability at this site was site was surprisingly high (95%). It also appears that Eastern Box Turtles lay only one clutch/year, in the later half of June, in southeastern New York.