Implications from Monitoring Gopher Tortoises at Two Spatial Scales
Abstract
ABSTRACT Conservation biologists need to effectively monitor species given resource limitations and the inherent challenges of assessing long‐term demographic processes. We assessed gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) abundance at a landscape scale and at the scale of 3 local populations within the Conecuh National Forest (CNF), Alabama, USA, between 1991 and 2017. We collected landscape‐level data from line transect distance sampling arranged uniformly across the CNF during a single season (2011); we obtained data for local populations from long‐term mark‐recapture of individuals at 3 sites selected based on prior knowledge of high density at each. At a landscape scale, we estimated 5,242 (95% CI = 3,538–7,768) tortoises occurred across the approximately 34,000‐ha forest, yielding a density of 0.14–0.32 tortoises/ha. These low densities across the landscape suggest that, on average, management activities across the property have not allowed tortoise populations to retain the social structure needed for long‐term persistence. The 3 local populations, however, contained 25–60 individuals and densities of 1.9–6.9 tortoises/ha. Over the study period, populations at 2 sites were stable and the third experienced significant population growth. Mean annual survival of individuals was 0.89 and invariant across size classes. Overall, line transect distance sampling is important for assessing landscape‐scale abundance of tortoisesmore »
- Authors:
-
- Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL (United States)
- USDA/US Forest Service, Heflin, AL (United States)
- Riverview, FL (United States)
- Auburn Univ., AL (United States)
- Univ. of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab., Aiken, SC (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Savannah River Site (SRS), Aiken, SC (United States). Savannah River Ecology Lab. (SREL)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1817854
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1786595
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FC09-07SR22506; DE‐EM0004391
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Wildlife Management
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 85; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 0022-541X
- Publisher:
- Wiley
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; demography; line transect distance sampling; mark-recapture; minimum viable population
Citation Formats
Goessling, Jeffrey M., Stober, Jonathan M., Gyengo, Sybil G., Hermann, Sharon M., Tuberville, Tracey D., and Guyer, Craig. Implications from Monitoring Gopher Tortoises at Two Spatial Scales. United States: N. p., 2020.
Web. doi:10.1002/jwmg.21966.
Goessling, Jeffrey M., Stober, Jonathan M., Gyengo, Sybil G., Hermann, Sharon M., Tuberville, Tracey D., & Guyer, Craig. Implications from Monitoring Gopher Tortoises at Two Spatial Scales. United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21966
Goessling, Jeffrey M., Stober, Jonathan M., Gyengo, Sybil G., Hermann, Sharon M., Tuberville, Tracey D., and Guyer, Craig. Thu .
"Implications from Monitoring Gopher Tortoises at Two Spatial Scales". United States. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21966. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1817854.
@article{osti_1817854,
title = {Implications from Monitoring Gopher Tortoises at Two Spatial Scales},
author = {Goessling, Jeffrey M. and Stober, Jonathan M. and Gyengo, Sybil G. and Hermann, Sharon M. and Tuberville, Tracey D. and Guyer, Craig},
abstractNote = {ABSTRACT Conservation biologists need to effectively monitor species given resource limitations and the inherent challenges of assessing long‐term demographic processes. We assessed gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) abundance at a landscape scale and at the scale of 3 local populations within the Conecuh National Forest (CNF), Alabama, USA, between 1991 and 2017. We collected landscape‐level data from line transect distance sampling arranged uniformly across the CNF during a single season (2011); we obtained data for local populations from long‐term mark‐recapture of individuals at 3 sites selected based on prior knowledge of high density at each. At a landscape scale, we estimated 5,242 (95% CI = 3,538–7,768) tortoises occurred across the approximately 34,000‐ha forest, yielding a density of 0.14–0.32 tortoises/ha. These low densities across the landscape suggest that, on average, management activities across the property have not allowed tortoise populations to retain the social structure needed for long‐term persistence. The 3 local populations, however, contained 25–60 individuals and densities of 1.9–6.9 tortoises/ha. Over the study period, populations at 2 sites were stable and the third experienced significant population growth. Mean annual survival of individuals was 0.89 and invariant across size classes. Overall, line transect distance sampling is important for assessing landscape‐scale abundance of tortoises but may fail to detect local clusters of high‐density sites important for population persistence. Our mark‐recapture efforts at the local scale revealed that small populations on these high‐density sites can exhibit long‐term stability or growth even though they do not meet current established criteria for viability. Improved models that incorporate immigration and emigration and better reflect the dynamics of peripheral populations would assist in determining how such populations best contribute to species recovery and regional conservation targets. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.},
doi = {10.1002/jwmg.21966},
journal = {Journal of Wildlife Management},
number = 1,
volume = 85,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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