Meeting Abstract

P2.5  Saturday, Jan. 5  Direct and Remote Methods of Assessing Turtle Nesting Behavior THOMPSON, D. M.*; FILLMORE, B.; LIGON, D. B.; Missouri State University; Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery; Missouri State University denise.thompson17@gmail.com

Although nesting behavior has been described for a few well-studied species, detailed information is lacking for most turtles. Interspecific variation in nesting behavior is of ecological and evolutionary interest, but such behavior is particularly relevant for species of conservation concern. We employed three techniques to investigate nesting behavior in a captive population of alligator snapping turtles (Macrochelys temminckii), a species for which head-start programs have been initiated. Visual observations, time-lapse cameras, and temperature data loggers were all used to assess nesting activity at different resolutions. Visual observations provided the most detailed information on nesting activity. However, it was not possible to observe all turtles’ activities, especially when multiple animals’ terrestrial activity overlapped. Time-lapse cameras were most useful for capturing absolute activity times and terrestrial activity frequency, but were unable to generate comparable detailed resolution of behavior. Finally, temperature loggers provided reliable data to obtain information on general activity patterns and nesting events for all marked females. In combination, these three complimentary techniques provided a robust description of most aspects of the species’ nesting behavior. Additional observations of these turtles in coming years will provide more information about within-individual variation in nesting behavior.