Meeting Abstract

P2.132  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Population Structure, Movement Patterns and Reproduction in the Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) from Southeast Georgia LITTLE, D/R*; ROSTAL, D/C; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro; Georgia Southern University, Statesboro dl00235@georgiasouthern.edu

Gopher tortoise populations in southeast Georgia have declined significantly in the past 100 years. Development has resulted in the loss of suitable tortoise habitat throughout its range. Most populations now persist on public land such as military installations, state parks and wildlife management areas. Many of these populations number less than a few hundred individuals. Within southeast Georgia, populations are restricted to sandhill habitats which are often separated by wetlands, creeks and rivers resulting in “island-like” distributions. On Fort Stewart Army Reservation, there is a large population of tortoises estimated at between 3-5,000 individuals separated on isolated sandhill habitats. Subpopulations from 7 different areas or “islands” were studied. For four of these subpopulations data is available for movement patterns and reproduction. All populations were analyzed for body size distribution and male-female sex ratios. The four subpopulations where data was available were also analyzed for movement distances and reproduction. Size and reproduction did not vary significantly between subpopulations. The gopher tortoise is a long lived species and capable of living greater than 60 years. These subpopulations may represent a historically larger population which is now fragmented into smaller subpopulations. Movement data based on either radiotelemetry studies or mark recapture data support the observation of limited movement if any between present day subpopulations. The importance of gene flow and levels of isolation or fragmentation will be discussed.