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- Title
A comparison of population demographics and body condition of Western River Cooter, Pseudemys gorzugi, between two distinct regions of their distribution.
- Authors
LETTER, ANDREW; FORSTNER, MICHAEL; FOLEY III, DAN; MALI, IVANA
- Abstract
Western River Cooter, Pseudemys gorzugi, is one of the least studied species of freshwater turtles in North America, with very little known about their biology. In the US, species occur only in New Mexico and Texas and their range is restricted to the Pecos and lower Rio Grande Basin. Western River Cooter is listed as a state threatened species in New Mexico and near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Given their conservation status, it is important to monitor populations of Western River Cooter across their range. In this study, we compared population demographics and body condition indices between two distinct regions of P. gorzugi distribution: Black River in New Mexico and Devils River in Texas. In New Mexico, we collected 196 turtles during 2016 field season, while in Texas, we collected 170 turtles during 2015/2016 field seasons. Our preliminary analyses show that there are fundamental differences in demographic parameters between New Mexico and Texas populations. While Texas population consists of larger turtles and adults only, New Mexico population contains turtles of all age classes (i.e., hatchlings, juveniles, and adults). Analysis of body condition between two separate populations will help further our understanding of P. gorzugi ecology and create opportunities for future studies, such as resource availability and food habits.
- Subjects
NEW Mexico; PSEUDEMYS; WESTERN painted turtle; GEOGRAPHICAL distribution of reptiles; TURTLE populations; DEMOGRAPHY; RIVER ecology
- Publication
New Mexico Journal of Science, 2016, Vol 50, Issue 1, p77
- ISSN
0270-3017
- Publication type
Article