Article
Ecology
Joseph A. Butler, J. David Lambert, Michelle DeDeo, Daniel P. Murphy
Summary: Diamondback terrapins are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List Index of Threatened Species due to various threats including habitat loss and mortality caused by predators and human activities. This study aimed to locate populations and nesting areas of diamondback terrapins in four counties in Florida. The researchers collected data on terrapin activity and found that the presence of specific woody plant species influenced nesting site choices.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Margaret M. Lamont, Darren Johnson, Daniel J. Catizone
Summary: The research tracked two diamondback terrapin individuals in Northwest Florida using satellite tags for 146 and 147 days, revealing unexpectedly long distances traveled and larger home ranges than previously reported. These findings suggest that habitat protection for this species may need to be expanded to incorporate more distant foraging sites.
ESTUARIES AND COASTS
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Patricia Levasseur, Michael T. Jones, Barbara Brennessel, Robert Prescott, Mark Faherty, Chris Sutherland
Summary: The status, size, and density of Diamondback Terrapin populations along the Atlantic coast have been reported as unknown or declining. Using spatial capture-recapture (SCR) methods, the study presents the first application of SCR to analyze Diamondback Terrapins in two known activity areas in Massachusetts. The results show that detection of terrapins is influenced by survey effort, day of the season, tide cycle, time of tide, survey time relative to the tide, cloud cover, and windspeed. The study also found significant differences in density and space use between the two sites, as well as a female-biased sex ratio. This study demonstrates the usefulness of SCR methods in estimating population size and density, while providing insights into space use and detection in Diamondback Terrapins.
JOURNAL OF HERPETOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Rowan E. Murphy, Amanda E. Martin, Lenore Fahrig
Summary: Turtles killed on roads may not experience negative population effects due to reduced predation of nests near roads, compensating for higher adult mortality. Field experiments showed that linearly placed roadside nests had lower predation rates than nonroad nests in a natural configuration. Population viability analysis estimated that reduced nest predation near roads could compensate for approximately 3%-6% annual adult roadkill. This highlights the importance of considering species interactions when evaluating road effects on wildlife populations.
Article
Zoology
Andrew J. Heaton, Michael J. Archer, Christina Mohrman, Jonathan L. Pitchford
Summary: This article describes the decrease in nesting habitat length and the decrease in the number of nests for Diamondback terrapins in the Grand Bay area, possibly due to high erosion rates.
CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Richard D. Mercer, Tyler B. Devos, Liam S. Corcoran, Scott W. Buchanan, Kathryn A. Beauchamp, Madeleine H. Linck, Nancy E. Karraker
Summary: Diamondback Terrapins play a crucial role in Saltmarsh ecosystems and are of conservation concern worldwide. The destruction of nests by nocturnal mammalian predators is a major cause of terrapin egg mortality. We conducted a two-year study in Rhode Island to investigate the nesting ecology of Diamondback Terrapins and to test the effectiveness of a solar electric fence in protecting the nests. Our findings revealed that the presence of Northern Raccoons and Striped Skunks was strongly correlated with nest predation, suggesting their significant role as predators at our study site.
HERPETOLOGICAL CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Eric Suarez, Travis M. Thomas, William M. Turner, Ryan L. Gandy, Kevin M. Enge, Steve A. Johnson
Summary: The study conducted by the authors on the ornate diamondback terrapin (M. t. macrospilota) in the eastern panhandle of Florida revealed a population size of approximately 1282 individuals and a density of 150 terrapins per hectare. The research also indicated a decreasing population trend, suggesting that this population is a seasonal migratory aggregation.
CHELONIAN CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Veterinary Sciences
Bryan S. Vorbach, Leigh A. Clayton, Willem M. Roosenburg, Terry M. Norton, Laura Adamovicz, Catherine A. Hadfield, Matthew C. Allender
Summary: The study examined potential reptile pathogens in two populations of wild terrapins. Results showed a high prevalence of M. testudineum, but the animals did not exhibit respiratory disease symptoms. The study suggests taking appropriate precautions in facilities housing multiple turtle species simultaneously.
JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Economics
Shilpa Aggarwal
Summary: This study shows that improving access has a positive impact on the adoption of reproductive health services, leading to more institutional antenatal visits and deliveries. The decrease in miscarriages is mainly attributed to better ante-natal care, but infant mortality rates have increased.
JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Colleen E. Naeger, Alan D. Jones, Scott L. Parker
Summary: The study found that playing predator vocalizations can effectively reduce the number of raccoons foraging on diamondback terrapin eggs, but does not affect their foraging time. Raccoon response to the vocalizations is attenuated by repeated exposure, and variations in type, length, and frequency of the vocalizations may increase their effectiveness as deterrents.
SOUTHEASTERN NATURALIST
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Pietro B. D'Amelio, Andre C. Ferreira, Rita Fortuna, Matthieu Paquet, Liliana R. Silva, Franck Theron, Claire Doutrelant, Rita Covas
Summary: Climate plays a significant role in reproductive processes, and this study investigated the effects of weather and nest predation on reproductive output in a social species. The results showed that larger group sizes have limited capacity to mitigate the effects of adverse weather.
Article
Ecology
Yuan Huang, Fredrik Ryderheim, Thomas Kiorboe
Summary: Bioluminescence is widespread among marine organisms and plays a crucial role in mediating interactions between individuals and impacting ecosystem processes. In dinoflagellates, bioluminescence serves as a defense mechanism by evoking an escape response in copepods, thereby reducing their predation rate. Additionally, the flashing of bioluminescent cells attracts predators, leading to increased predation mortality. The primary adaptive value of bioluminescence in dinoflagellates is the defense of individual cells.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Civil
Pallaviram Sure, Chithra Priya Srinivasan, C. Narendra Babu
Summary: The paper discusses the importance of road traffic sensing in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) and the use of Low Rank Matrix Completion (LR-MC) approaches for accurate matrix reconstruction. Two new LR-MC approaches, AL-SRMF and C-LR, are developed and experimentally validated for traffic matrices of Californian road network. The results show that these new methods outperform existing approaches with significantly better performance.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INTELLIGENT TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS
(2022)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Cheryl S. Brehme, Jeff A. Tracey, Brittany A. I. Ewing, Michael T. Hobbs, Alan E. Launer, Tritia A. Matsuda, Esther M. Cole Adelsheim, Robert N. Fisher
Summary: The study showed that migrating adult California tiger salamanders typically move a short distance along barrier fencing before turning back or giving up, with decreasing probability of finding a passage as distance from the tunnel system increases. Salamanders changed directions more frequently and spent more time along mesh fencing, indicating that a maximum distance of 12.5 meters between passages along migration routes should allow for efficient road crossings for most adult salamanders.
GLOBAL ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Martin Sladecek, Katerina Brynychova, Esmat Elhassan, Miroslav E. Salek, Veronika Janatova, Eva Vozabulova, Petr Chajma, Veronika Firlova, Lucie Peskova, Aisha Almuhery, Martin Bulla
Summary: Predation of nest is a common cause of failure in birds, but the timing of predation within a day is not well understood. A study on red-wattled lapwings found a daily predation rate of 0.95% with 70% of nests hatching successfully. Predation events were evenly distributed between day and night, with a tendency for increased predation around sunrise.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)