Turtle Crossing
We have some unfortunate news from the lab today – one of our gopher tortoises sampled from the Loggerhead Park, Juno Beach location was hit by a car. She sustained multiple shell fractures and has been transferred to a local wildlife rehabilitation facility for care. At this time we are unsure she will make it, but we are rooting for her recovery! This incident brings up the important topic of habitat fragmentation and road mortality, both of which can be devastating to any wildlife population.
Road mortality is a serious issue in the realm of wildlife conservation. There have been numerous studies that have shown that, for many species, road mortality can lead to the decline of a population. A study by Aresco (2013) found that in just 40 days, 343 turtles were killed by cars on U.S. highway 27. Many tortoise road mortalities occur in females, which can seriously alter population dynamics – it takes about 10–20 years for a gopher tortoise to undergo sexual maturity and become reproductively active. Many traffic incidents occur by accident, but in 2013, a Clemson student used a realistic looking rubber turtle to observe driver behavior when encountering wildlife on the road. Much to his surprise, he watched 7 people actually swerve out of their way towards the turtle to purposefully hit it.
The damaging effects of habitat fragmentation by roads is not limited to vehicular mortality. Habitat fragmentation leads to a variety of negative impacts on populations including genetic drift and inbreeding, ease of the spread of disease, and an increase in demand for food and other resources. It can reduce biodiversity by up to 75%, altering ecosystem function and even nutrient cycles (Haddad et al. 2015). Securing suitable habitat for local wildlife is critical for the continuing conservation of many important species.
On a happier note, we wanted to share this video of a gopher tortoise sighting right outside the Harbor Branch dormitories the other day! His burrow is located quite high on a hill. Did you know that gopher tortoise burrows can be as large as 10 feet wide and 40 feet deep? They are pretty amazing excavators. Hopefully this gopher tortoise will be a part of our health assessment when we start field work!
References:
Aresco, M. J. (2003). Highway mortality of turtles and other herpetofauna at Lake Jackson, Florida, USA, and the efficacy of a temporary fence/culvert system to reduce roadkills. UC Davis: Road Ecology Center. Retrieved from https://escholarship.org/uc/ item/0kr0x06https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/2/e1500052
Haddad, Nick M., et al. “Habitat Fragmentation and Its Lasting Impact on Earth’s Ecosystems.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 Mar. 2015. Retrieved from https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/2/e1500052
https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/some-drivers-go-out-of-their-way-to-hit-turtles
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