Kinosternon Hirtipes Murrayi) in Central Mexico

Kinosternon Hirtipes Murrayi) in Central Mexico

View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Firenze University Press: E-Journals Acta Herpetologica 13(2): 109-115, 2018 DOI: 10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-22876 Population ecology and home range of the Mexican Rough-footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi) in Central Mexico Ivette Enríquez-Mercado1, Alejandro Montiel-Ugalde2, Ángeles Aparicio1, Eder Gaona Murillo3, Tag- gert Butterfield2, Rodrigo Macip-Ríos2,4,* 1 Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, 72530 Puebla, México 2 Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Antigua Carretera a Pátzcuaro 8701, Ex. Hacienda de San José La Huerta, 58190 Morelia, México. *Corresponding author. E-mail: rmacip@enesmorelia.unam.mx 3 Facultad de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, 58040 Morelia, México 4 Laboratorio Nacional de Síntesis Ecológica y Conservación Genética, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 58190 Morelia, México Submitted on: 2018, 11th March; revised on: 2018, 26th June; accepted on: 2018, 27th June Editor: Uwe Fritz Abstract. Population ecology and demographic data are fundamental for species management and conservation planning. For Mexican kinosternid turtles there is a need for basic natural history and population ecology data. The Rough-footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi) is one of the lesser-studied species, even though it is broadly distributed, occurring from Western Texas to Central Mexico. We conducted a study on the species in Michoacán, Mexico for two years. Basic population parameters were estimated, and telemetry was used to measure home range size and movements of males and females. Population size in a 1.42-hectare wetland was calculated to be 301 (± SE 5.89) individuals, mainly adults. The adult sex ratio was skewed toward males (3.1:1). Female home range size was larger than that of males, and males moved larger distances between relocation events. The radio-tracked individuals did not leave the water during winter months and during the dry season. Habitat degradation due to eutrophication may be affecting population survivorship and recruitment. Keywords. Mexican Rough-footed Mud Turtle, Kinosternon hirtipes murrayi, population ecology, home range, México. INTRODUCTION are long-lived organisms, collection of demographic data presents a challenge because their lifespan can reach sev- Knowledge of demographic characteristics, home eral decades (Crouse et al., 1987; Edmonds and Brooks, range size, and movement patterns are important for 1996; Enneson and Litzgus, 2008) and recaptures can be designing conservation and management strategies for sparse (Chao, 1989). On the other hand, measuring home species (Gibbs and Amato, 2000; Primack, 2012). Demo- range size and movement patterns requires more detailed graphic characteristics include: population size, abun- studies where individuals are followed through space and dance, sex ratio, population structure, survivorship, time (Hays, 1992; Godley et al., 2002; Pérez-Pérez et al., and the contribution of these parameters to populations 2017). Typical home range and movement studies are dynamics through time (Caswell, 2001). To measure any conducted using radiotelemetry so that individuals can of these population characteristics accurately requires be located repeatedly (Cochran, 1980; Singer and Blak- long-term data or a high rate of recaptures to estimate enhol, 2015). When long term studies are coupled with these parameters accurately (Lemos-Espinal et al., 2005; radiotelemetry, clearer patterns of habitat use, migration, Molina-Zuluaga et al., 2013). However, because turtles resource use, and seasonal patterns like aestivation can ISSN 1827-9635 (print) © Firenze University Press ISSN 1827-9643 (online) www.fupress.com/ah 110 Ivette Enríquez-Mercado et alii be detected. Despite the importance of long-term and MATERIALS AND METHODS detailed studies of turtle populations, most of the infor- mation that exists is on species within the United States Study Site (Iverson, 1991; Rouane et al., 2008; Enneson and Litzgus, 2008; Lovich and Ennen, 2013). This study was carried out near Morelia, Michoacán, Méx- ico in irrigation canals that come from a wetland called “La Outside of the US, long-term and detailed studies with Mintzita” (13°38’N, 101°16’E). “La Mintzita” is a natural spring turtles have been largely neglected. For example, Mexi- that is associated with a 57-hectare (ha) wetland recognized by co has the second most diverse turtle fauna in the world RAMSAR (The Ramsar Convention of Wetlands, 2014). This (Rhodin et al., 2017), yet long-term mark-recapture and wetland has been managed by humans since pre-Columbian radiotelemetry studies are few to non-existent (Legler and time and still maintains significant biological diversity includ- Vogt, 2013). Only recently, biologists have started gener- ing the presence of several species of fishes (some of them ating this kind of data on Mexican turtle species (Macip- endemic like Zoogeneticus quitzeoensis, Skiffia lermae, Yuriria Ríos et al., 2009; 2011; Vázquez-Gómez et al., 2016; Pérez- alta, among others), waterfowl, amphibians, reptiles, and vari- Pérez et al., 2017). Mud turtles (Kinosternidae) have been ous mammals (Marin-Togo and Blanco-García, 2012). The two main irrigation canals at “La Mintzita” are fed by a particular focus, as they are the most diverse turtle line- the most northern part of the wetland. These canals are used by age in Mexico (Legler and Vogt, 2013). One of those spe- local people to irrigate corn fields and manage runoff during the cies, the Mexican Rough-Footed Mud Turtle (Kinosternon wet season when water levels are high. The canals have a low hirtipes) is broadly distributed from the Big Bend region in current and flow northeast for 2 km before joining a tributary of a few localities in Western Texas (Platt and Medlock, 2015) the Cuitzeo Lake basin that is also known as the “Rio Grande” of to central Michoacán in the Mexican Transvolcanic Belt Morelia. Compared to other tributaries of the “Rio Grande”, the (Iverson, 1992). Throughout this range, five K. hirtipes sub- irrigation canals studied here are less polluted and degraded. The 2 species are recognized: K. h. hirtipes in the Valley of Mexi- total area sampled has a coverage area of 14266 m . co; K. h. megacephalum (extinct) in Viesca, Coahuila; K. h. magdalense in the Magdalena River basin, Michoacán; K. Trapping protocol h. chapalense in Chapala Lake and Zapotlán Lake, Jalisco; K. h. tarascense in Patzcuaro Lake, Michoacán; and K. h. This study was conducted during two wet seasons, from murrayi, from the Big Bend region of Texas to the high- May-December 2016 and June-November 2017. We placed traps lands of Michoacán (Iverson, 1981). for one night, at least two times per month. We used two fyke Despite their wide distribution in Mexico, most eco- nets and 9-12 minnow traps (Promar, Garden, Ca.). Traps were logical information on K. hirtipes is from Iverson (1981; baited with fresh fish and placed in the irrigation canals from 1985), who described sexual size dimorphism, mor- approximately 17:00 h to 10:00 h the following day. For each phological differences, and basic distributional patterns trapping session, traps were placed in the same place in 2016, among the subspecies. Some information also exists on K. but had to be changed in 2017 due to an unusually high level of water at the beginning of the season and a dramatic increase in h. murrayi. For example, Iverson et al. (1991) described invasive aquatic plants, Elodea sp. and Eichhornia crassipes. Our the growth and reproduction of this subspecies in Chi- sampling effort for the first season (May-December 2016) was huahua, Platt et al. (2016a) described their diet, Platt et 2142 trap hours using 12 minnow traps plus two fyke nets, and al. (2016b) also described the reproductive ecology in 1836 trap hours in the second sampling season (June-November their northern distribution limit in Texas, Platt and Med- 2017) using 9 minnow traps plus two fyke nets. lock (2015) studied aestivation behavior, and Smith et al. (2015; 2018) reported a new body size record and nesting behavior. In general, these studies demonstrate that K. h. Turtle measuring protocol murrayi exhibits more morphological variation than other All captured turtles were marked using the shell-notch subspecies, has wide variation in body size, and is sexually code system from Cagle (1939), then measured. We measured dimorphic, with males typically being larger than females body mass (BM) to the nearest gram using a spring scale (1 (Glass and Hartweg, 1951; Iverson, 1985). g). Morphological characters, including straight-line carapace Our aim was to generate additional ecological infor- length (CL), straight-line plastron length (PL), carapace width mation on K. h. murrayi using capture-mark-recapture (CW), and carapace height (CH) were measured to the nearest methods and radiotelemetry in a wetland near More- 0.01 mm using dial calipers. lia, Michoacán, México. Our specific objectives were Males were identified by using secondary sexual character- to describe basic population ecology parameters, home istics: long and bulky tail, a developed spine at the end of the range, and movement patterns of K. h. murrayi in a tail, a prominent notch in the hind lobe of the plastron, and had a concave plastron (Iverson, 1999). Females were identified human-modified landscape. by their size and

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