Home Range of the Spotted Turtle, Clemmys guttata (Schneider)

Copeia ◽  
1970 ◽  
Vol 1970 (2) ◽  
pp. 391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl H. Ernst
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Clemmys Guttata ◽  
Spotted Turtle

Conservation genetics of the endangered Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) illustrate the risks of “bottleneck tests”

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina M. Davy ◽  
Robert W. Murphy
Keyword(s):  
Population Genetics ◽  
Freshwater Turtles ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Principal Coordinates Analysis ◽  
Turtle Species ◽  
Principal Coordinates ◽  
Clemmys Guttata ◽  
Spotted Turtle ◽  
Cast Doubt

Studies of population genetics in turtles have suggested that turtles do not experience genetic impacts of bottlenecks as strongly as expected. However, recent studies cast doubt on two commonly used tests implemented in the program BOTTLENECK, suggesting that these findings should be re-evaluated. The Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata (Schneider, 1792)) is endangered both globally and within Canada, but genetic data required to develop effective recovery strategies are unavailable. Here, we conducted the first study of population genetic structure in C. guttata. We then used multiple small populations of C. guttata as replicates to test whether the commonly used program BOTTLENECK could detect the genetic signature of bottlenecks in our study populations, which are all thought to have experienced significant declines in the past 2–3 generations (75 years). Turtles (n = 256) were genotyped at 11 microsatellite loci. A suite of Bayesian population genetics analyses and a principal coordinates analysis identified a minimum of 6 distinct genetic populations and a maximum of 10 differentiated subpopulations across the sampled Canadian range of C. guttata, which corresponded to demographically independent units. BOTTLENECK failed to detect population declines. A literature review found that bottleneck tests in 17 of 18 previous genetic studies of tortoises and freshwater turtles were based on suboptimal sampling, potentially confounding their results. High retention of genetic diversity (allelic richness and heterozygosity) in isolated populations of C. guttata and other turtle species is encouraging for species recovery, but conclusions about the prevalence of genetic bottlenecks in such populations should be re-examined.

Home Range and Seasonal Activity of Southern Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata): Implications for Management

Copeia ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 2004 (4) ◽  
pp. 804-817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline D. Litzgus ◽  
Timothy A. Mousseau
Keyword(s):  
Home Range ◽  
Seasonal Activity ◽  
Clemmys Guttata

scholarly journals Record longevity of a Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

2018 ◽  
Vol 132 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-19
Author(s):  
David Seburn
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Adult Female ◽  
Maximum Life Span ◽  
Northern Limit ◽  
Growth Rings ◽  
Maximum Longevity ◽  
Clemmys Guttata ◽  
Spotted Turtle ◽  
In The Wild

Turtles are known for their longevity, but the maximum life span for many species remains unknown. Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) can live for more than 30 years in the wild, but typical or maximum longevity has not been confirmed. As part of a long-term mark–recapture project in Ottawa, Ontario, near the species’ northern limit, an adult female was captured on 27 April 2017. It had first been marked on 11 June 1983, when it was an adult with 17 growth rings on its plastron. Based on the number of growth rings at first capture, and the intervening time, this turtle is a minimum of 51 years old, setting a longevity record for the species. Ten individuals in this population were at least 30 years old when last captured, including a male at least 41 years old. Few of these turtles have grown measurably since being marked in 1983, and it is likely that these minimum ages are underestimates of actual ages.

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