Response of gopher tortoises to military training operations: Preliminary data

Abstract

The Department of Defense (DOD) needs defensible data to understand how gopher tortoises utilize military lands to address the question of potential military effects on tortoise populations, while also maintaining its ability to continue to train to standard. The objective of the research is to examine if there are differences in tortoise activity and behavior due to variation in military training activity. Automated radio‐telemetry equipment is being used to monitor the activity patterns of gopher tortoises on Camp Shelby, MS. The automated radio‐telemetry equipment enables one person to monitor the activity of many transmittered tortoises continuously over an extended time, regardless of weather, light level or terrain. Video surveillance and sound recording equipment are also being used to monitor tortoise behavior in proximity to burrows and quantify and characterize potential anthropogenic disturbances within study locations. The goal of this study is to benefit the recovery and management of gopher tortoise populations on DoD and non‐DoD lands by providing natural resource managers detailed temporal and spatial data on gopher tortoise activity, behavior, and movement patterns under varying conditions. Funding was provided by the Engineering Research and Development Center. Preliminary examples of field data and database tables will be presented.