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Ecology and Conservation Biology of the North American Wood Turtle (Glyptemys

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Ecology and Conservation Biology of the North American Wood Turtle (Glyptemys Ecology and Conservation Biology of the North American Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) in the Central Appalachians A dissertation presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy Steven P. Krichbaum May 2018 © 2018 Steven P. Krichbaum. All Rights Reserved. 2 This dissertation titled Ecology and Conservation Biology of the North American Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) in the Central Appalachians by STEVEN P. KRICHBAUM has been approved for the Department of Biological Sciences and the College of Arts and Sciences by Willem Roosenburg Professor of Biological Sciences Robert Frank Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 Abstract KRICHBAUM, STEVEN P., Ph.D., May 2018, Biological Sciences Ecology and Conservation Biology of the North American Wood Turtle (Glyptemys insculpta) in the Central Appalachians Director of Dissertation: Willem Roosenburg My study presents information on summer use of terrestrial habitat by IUCN “endangered” North American Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta), sampled over four years at two forested montane sites on the southern periphery of the species’ range in the central Appalachians of Virginia (VA) and West Virginia (WV) USA. The two sites differ in topography, stream size, elevation, and forest composition and structure. I obtained location points for individual turtles during the summer, the period of their most extensive terrestrial roaming. Structural, compositional, and topographical habitat features were measured, counted, or characterized on the ground (e.g., number of canopy trees and identification of herbaceous taxa present) at Wood Turtle locations as well as at paired random points located 23-300m away from each particular turtle location. First, I report and discuss basic morphometric and activity area data of the VA and WV turtles. Chapter two uses a nine-year dataset of adult WV Wood Turtles to estimate population size, population growth rate (lambda), and survivorship with open population Cormack-Jolly-Seber and Pradel models in program MARK. My third chapter assess Wood Turtle thermal ecology by examining three data sets of environmental and turtle temperatures: 1) temperatures 4 in three different microhabitat types (unshaded by ground cover [exposed], under vegetation [UV], under litter [UL]) recorded by iButtons at arrays throughout the two study sites; 2) ground temperatures at the locations of radio-tracked individuals and their paired random points measured within 300 meters and 30 minutes of each other; 3) body temperatures estimated with iButtons attached to the shell bridges of adult Wood Turtles. In the fourth chapter, I examine highly localized conditions resulting from short-term weather patterns and fine-scale microhabitat characteristics by comparing ground-level relative humidity at the locations of radio-tracked Wood Turtles to those at paired random points. I use the GIS-based water balance model developed by Dr. James Dyer to examine landscape conditions (such as water deficit [“DEF”] and actual evapotranspiration [“AET”]) resulting from long-term climate patterns and broad-scale habitat conditions (e.g., topographical aspect and soil types). The final two chapters are the heart of my dissertation. Vegetation was identified, measured, counted, or characterized in plots at 640 locations (394 in VA, 246 in WV), evenly distributed between adult turtle and random points. Importance values for overstory trees ≥ 10cm dbh were calculated in 400m2 plots; herbaceous plant taxa were identified in 400m2 and 1m2 plots; woody seedling taxa were identified in 1 m2 plots; forest types were specified at the 400m2 plot and stand (5-20ha) scales. I used the R program “indicspecies”, paired logistic regression, and classification and regression trees (CART) to analyse these data. Over thirty herbaceous and woody seedling taxa were indicators for Wood Turtle 5 presence at the 400m2 and/or 1m2 scales at the VA and WV study sites. I used a series of conditional logistic regressions to quantify habitat use of Wood Turtles at multiple scales across a range of different forest types. At each of the turtle and random points proportions of ground cover were visually estimated within 1m2 plots to assess microhabitat use; structural, compositional, and topographical habitat features were measured in 400m2 circular plots to capture meso-scale ecological data; and stand scale (5-20ha) designations of forest type and seral stage were used to assess macro-scale habitat use. I found that Wood Turtles showed a preference for specific environmental conditions: older forest sites with relatively more herbaceous ground cover, large woody debris, canopy openness, and turtle- level obscurity, and with gentler slopes and warmer aspects. 6 Dedication For my family, especially my parents, Donald William and Mary Mihailoff Krichbaum, and my friends, especially Sherman Bamford, Shay and Kim Clanton, Lloyd Clayton, Jacques and Ulysses Desportes, Nancy Eckel-Dickenson, Bob Fener, Joe and Jackie Glisson, Joe and Laura Hazelbaker, Allan Hench, Henry C. Familiarus, Jack Hutchinson, Mike Jones, Linda Lee and Andy Mahler, Ernie and Sue Reed, Jody Schaub, Andrew Sterrett, Dwight Worker, and Christina Wulf. 7 Acknowledgments This dissertation was possible thanks to many people. The usual suspects: Dr. Willem Roosenburg of Ohio University for consultation and patience; Dr. Thomas Akre of Smithsonian Conservation Center for equipment and inspiration; Dr. James Dyer of Ohio University for GIS assistance and chocolate; Dr. Viorel Popescue of Ohio University for advice and statistical assistance; my committee – Dr. Scott Moody, Dr. Matt White, and Dr. Don Miles. The OU Biological Sciences Department faculty, students, and staff for support, especially Cindy Meyer and Karen Keesey. Dr. Robert Hunzicker (Naturalist Extraordinaire), Dr. Robert Mueller (Geologist Extraordinaire), Kyle Elza, Preston Sheaks, and Heroic Henry the Best Boy in the World for field assistance. The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Grant from the American Museum of Natural History for funding. Yoyd Clayton, Dwight Worker, Heartwood, and Wild Virginia for additional funding and entertainment. US Forest Service (Ken Landgraf), Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (Shirl Dressler, J.D. Kloepfer), and WV Department of Natural Resources (Barbara Sargent, Kieran O’Malley) for permits. 8 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract .................................................................................................................. 3 Dedication ............................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgments .................................................................................................. 7 List of Tables ........................................................................................................ 13 List of Figures [figures are in Supplement document] ............................................ 17 Chapter 1: Aspects of Spatial Ecology and Morphometrics of Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) at Their Southern Range Periphery ..................................... 21 Introduction .................................................................................................... 21 Focal Species ............................................................................................. 23 Methods .......................................................................................................... 24 Study Area ................................................................................................. 24 Field Procedures ........................................................................................ 25 Analytic Procedures ................................................................................... 27 Results ............................................................................................................ 28 Spatial Ecology .......................................................................................... 28 Morphology ............................................................................................... 30 Discussion ...................................................................................................... 31 Spatial Ecology .......................................................................................... 31 Morphology ............................................................................................... 38 Chapter 2: Demographic Estimates and Conservation Implications for a Southern Population of Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) ............................................... 47 Introduction .................................................................................................... 47 Focal Species ............................................................................................. 49 Methods .......................................................................................................... 50 Study Area ................................................................................................. 50 Field Procedures ........................................................................................ 51 Analytic Procedures ................................................................................... 52 Results ............................................................................................................ 55 Field
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