Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1983
Abstract
Gopherus berlandieri was studied on a 3.3 ha grid in Cameron Co., Texas for five years. One hundred two tortoises were marked (43 males, 30 females, 26 juv., and 3 adults whose sex was not determined). Numbers of males and females did not differ significantly. Juveniles comprised 27% to 9% of the population and maximum population density was 15 to 16 tortoises per ha. The number of females remained constant, but males and juveniles declined gradually from 1972 to 1975, then markedly in 1976. The percentage of shared individuals in successive years was higher for females than males, but only 58% of the females captured in 1972 were captured in 1976. No juveniles captured in 1972 were captured in 1976. Capture points of tortoises were clustered within the center 25% of the estimated home range. Comparison of mean home range size calculated in this study with data presented by Rose and Judd (1975) showed no significant changes in mean size in males or females.
Recommended Citation
Judd, Frank W., and Francis L. Rose. “Population Structure, Density and Movements of the Texas Tortoise Gopherus Berlandieri.” The Southwestern Naturalist 28, no. 4 (1983): 387–98. https://doi.org/10.2307/3670817.
Publication Title
The Southwestern Naturalist
DOI
10.2307/3670817
Comments
The Southwestern Naturalist © 1983 Southwestern Association of Naturalists Request Permissions