Effect of Hurricane Patricia on Habitat Use by the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle in a Tropical Dry Forest

Document Type

Oral Presentation

Campus where you would like to present

Ellensburg

Event Website

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source

Start Date

15-5-2019

End Date

15-5-2019

Abstract

Rinochlemmys rubida, more commonly known as the Mexican spotted wood turtle, is a small, terrestrial turtle endemic to the tropical dry forests of western Mexico. In October 2015, the devasting winds of Hurricane Patricia swept through the Tropical Dry Forest at the Biological Station in Chamela, Mexico where research on Rhinoclemmys was already underway. The strong winds broke branches, toppled trees, and deposited considerable woody debris onto the forest floor. In this study, we investigated how Mexican spotted wood turtles have responded to this disturbance. We focused on whether turtles have shown changes in patterns of movement, and habitat/shelter use after Hurricane Patricia. We radiotracked movements of 12 turtles (6 males and 6 females) during summers of 2017 and 2018 to quantify potential changes in home range size, microhabitat use, and activity patterns after the hurricane. We also measured the composition (leaf litter, vegetation, woody debris, bare soil) of microhabitats in the forest understory, and locations used by turtles, within 1x1 meter plots before the hurricane (2015) and recorded changes in the same plots after the hurricane (2017, 2018). Woody debris increased significantly in the forest understory after Hurricane Patricia, whereas vegetation

Department/Program

Biological Sciences

Tortugas 2019 SOURCE.pptx (44199 kB)
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Luna

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Tortugas 2019 SOURCE.pptx (44199 kB)
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Luna

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May 15th, 12:00 AM May 15th, 12:00 AM

Effect of Hurricane Patricia on Habitat Use by the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle in a Tropical Dry Forest

Ellensburg

Rinochlemmys rubida, more commonly known as the Mexican spotted wood turtle, is a small, terrestrial turtle endemic to the tropical dry forests of western Mexico. In October 2015, the devasting winds of Hurricane Patricia swept through the Tropical Dry Forest at the Biological Station in Chamela, Mexico where research on Rhinoclemmys was already underway. The strong winds broke branches, toppled trees, and deposited considerable woody debris onto the forest floor. In this study, we investigated how Mexican spotted wood turtles have responded to this disturbance. We focused on whether turtles have shown changes in patterns of movement, and habitat/shelter use after Hurricane Patricia. We radiotracked movements of 12 turtles (6 males and 6 females) during summers of 2017 and 2018 to quantify potential changes in home range size, microhabitat use, and activity patterns after the hurricane. We also measured the composition (leaf litter, vegetation, woody debris, bare soil) of microhabitats in the forest understory, and locations used by turtles, within 1x1 meter plots before the hurricane (2015) and recorded changes in the same plots after the hurricane (2017, 2018). Woody debris increased significantly in the forest understory after Hurricane Patricia, whereas vegetation

https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/72