Gopher Tortoise Ecology in Coastal Upland and Beach Dune Habitats in Northeast Florida
| Autor: | Matthew E. Kimball, Jaime C Pawelek |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: | |
| Zdroj: | Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 13:27-34 |
| ISSN: | 1943-3956 1071-8443 |
| DOI: | 10.2744/ccb-1053.1 |
| Popis: | Considered a keystone species in the southeastern US coastal plain, gopher tortoises occupy a variety of upland habitat types. Although upland pine-dominated habitats have received much attention, few studies have examined tortoises in nearby coastal beach dune habitats. To examine the distribution and abundance of gopher tortoises in northeast Florida coastal habitats, comprehensive burrow surveys were conducted 3 times during the last 8 yrs on 2 separate gopher tortoise populations near St. Augustine, Florida. The objectives for these surveys were to 1) examine changes in population size and structure in representative upland and coastal dune habitats and 2) describe the response of gopher tortoises to land management practices (i.e., prescribed fire). Total burrow density within the upland population remained stable over the 3 surveys (0.68 burrows/ha in 2005, 0.66 burrows/ha in 2007, and 0.64 burrows/ha in 2011). Burrow densities in the burned areas of the upland habitat increased in areas th... |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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