Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance
Human disturbance impacts the breeding behavior of many species, and it is particularly important to understand how these human-caused changes affect vulnerable taxa, such as turtles. Habitat alteration can change the amount and quality of suitable nesting habitat, while human presence during nestin...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Diversity |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/275 |
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| author | Molly Folkerts Caldwell Jorge E. López-Pérez Daniel A. Warner Matthew E. Wolak |
| author_facet | Molly Folkerts Caldwell Jorge E. López-Pérez Daniel A. Warner Matthew E. Wolak |
| author_sort | Molly Folkerts Caldwell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human disturbance impacts the breeding behavior of many species, and it is particularly important to understand how these human-caused changes affect vulnerable taxa, such as turtles. Habitat alteration can change the amount and quality of suitable nesting habitat, while human presence during nesting may influence nesting behavior. Consequently, both habitat alteration and human presence can influence the microhabitat that females choose for nesting. In the summer of 2019, we located emydid turtle nests in east-central Alabama, USA, in areas with varying levels of human disturbance (high, intermediate, low). We aimed to determine whether turtles selected nest sites based on a range of microhabitat variables comparing maternally selected natural nests to randomly chosen artificial nests. We also compared nest site choice across areas with different levels of human disturbance. Natural nests had less variance in canopy openness and average daily mean and minimum temperature than artificial nests, but microhabitat variables were similar across differing levels of disturbance. Additionally, we experimentally quantified nest predation across a natural to human-disturbed gradient. Nest predation rates were higher in areas with low and intermediate levels of disturbance than in areas with high human disturbance. Overall, these results show that turtles are not adjusting their choices of nest microhabitat when faced with anthropogenic change, suggesting that preserving certain natural microhabitat features will be critical for populations in human-disturbed areas. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:56:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f4467ba8452f4081b808e5e1d43820a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1424-2818 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T08:56:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Diversity |
| spelling | doaj.art-f4467ba8452f4081b808e5e1d43820a22023-11-16T20:05:33ZengMDPI AGDiversity1424-28182023-02-0115227510.3390/d15020275Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human DisturbanceMolly Folkerts Caldwell0Jorge E. López-Pérez1Daniel A. Warner2Matthew E. Wolak3Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USABiology Department, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USADepartment of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USAHuman disturbance impacts the breeding behavior of many species, and it is particularly important to understand how these human-caused changes affect vulnerable taxa, such as turtles. Habitat alteration can change the amount and quality of suitable nesting habitat, while human presence during nesting may influence nesting behavior. Consequently, both habitat alteration and human presence can influence the microhabitat that females choose for nesting. In the summer of 2019, we located emydid turtle nests in east-central Alabama, USA, in areas with varying levels of human disturbance (high, intermediate, low). We aimed to determine whether turtles selected nest sites based on a range of microhabitat variables comparing maternally selected natural nests to randomly chosen artificial nests. We also compared nest site choice across areas with different levels of human disturbance. Natural nests had less variance in canopy openness and average daily mean and minimum temperature than artificial nests, but microhabitat variables were similar across differing levels of disturbance. Additionally, we experimentally quantified nest predation across a natural to human-disturbed gradient. Nest predation rates were higher in areas with low and intermediate levels of disturbance than in areas with high human disturbance. Overall, these results show that turtles are not adjusting their choices of nest microhabitat when faced with anthropogenic change, suggesting that preserving certain natural microhabitat features will be critical for populations in human-disturbed areas.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/275nesting behaviornest predationoviposition-site choice<i>Trachemys scripta</i>urbanizationyellow-bellied slider |
| spellingShingle | Molly Folkerts Caldwell Jorge E. López-Pérez Daniel A. Warner Matthew E. Wolak Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance Diversity nesting behavior nest predation oviposition-site choice <i>Trachemys scripta</i> urbanization yellow-bellied slider |
| title | Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance |
| title_full | Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance |
| title_fullStr | Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance |
| title_short | Consistent Nest Site Selection by Turtles across Habitats with Varying Levels of Human Disturbance |
| title_sort | consistent nest site selection by turtles across habitats with varying levels of human disturbance |
| topic | nesting behavior nest predation oviposition-site choice <i>Trachemys scripta</i> urbanization yellow-bellied slider |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/2/275 |
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