Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz — John Shaqi
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata AgassizLegler, John M.
Science
Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz
Legler, John M.
Ornate box turtle
Movements of individual turtles were studied by means of a
turtle-trailing device--similar to the kind first described by Breder
(1927) and later modified by Stickel (1950:355-356)--a tin can, cut to
fit the shell of a turtle, with an axle that bore a spool of thread
(Pl. 27, Fig. 1). The device was taped to the turtle; the free end of
the thread was tied to a stationary object. Thread payed out from the
spool through a guide-loop and marked the course of the turtle as it
moved away from the starting point. Because of its great strength and
elasticity (as compared to cotton), nylon sewing thread was used in
trailers. Ordinarily, turtles were unable to break the thread if it
became snarled or was expended. Cattle frequently tangled the thread
and displaced it but did not often break it. Ordinary spools were cut
down on a lathe so they would hold 600 to 800 yards of thread.
Turtle-trailing provided an accurate record of where and how far a
turtle had traveled, and to a lesser extent, the sort of activity in
which the turtle had been engaged (evidence of feeding, forms, or
trial nest holes). Trailers seemed not to alter the normal activity of
turtles.
Prominent landmarks were rare or wanting in most places on the
pasture. Locations of captures (or reference points in the movements
of trailer-turtles) were determined by triangulation with a Brunton
compass, using trees along fences as known points of reference. Rough
maps were made in the field and used later, along with compass
readings and measurements, to make a more precise record of movements
and captures on a large map (scale, 100 feet to one inch) of the study
area. Mapped points of capture in grassy areas were accurate within
ten to twenty feet; points of capture in areas where landmarks were
nearby were nearly exact. Areas were measured with a planimeter;
distances traveled by individuals were measured with a cartometer.
Turtles were measured in the field to the nearest millimeter with
large wooden calipers (of the type used by shoe salesmen) and a clear
plastic ruler. Measurements in the laboratory, especially in studies
of growth, were made, to the nearest tenth of a millimeter with dial
calipers. Measurements made on each specimen examined in the field
were: length of carapace, width of carapace, length of plastron (sum
of lengths of forelobe and hind lobe), width of plastron (at hinge),
and height. All measurements were made in a straight line. A spring
scale of 500 gram capacity, used in the field, gave weights accurately
within three grams. A triple-beam balance was used in the laboratory.
Unless otherwise noted, measurements are expressed in millimeters and
weights are expressed in grams.
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