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
Recommended Citation
Luna, Jessica, "Effect of Hurricane Patricia on Habitat Use by the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle in a Tropical Dry Forest" (2019). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 72.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2019/Oralpres/72
Department/Program
Biological Sciences
Slides for SOURCE 2019 presentation Luna
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