Gopher tortoise
Gopher tortoise | |
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Gopher tortoise at | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Testudines |
Suborder: | Cryptodira |
Superfamily: | Testudinoidea |
Family: | Testudinidae |
Genus: | Gopherus |
Species: | G. polyphemus
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Binomial name | |
Gopherus polyphemus Daudin, 1802
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Synonyms[3] | |
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The gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) is a
The gopher tortoise is a representative of the genus
Etymology
The specific name, polyphemus, refers to the cave-dwelling giant, Polyphemus, of Greek mythology.[8] Gopher tortoises are so named because of some species' habit of digging large, deep burrows like the gopher.
Description
The gopher tortoise is a terrestrial reptile that possesses forefeet that are well adapted for burrowing, and elephantine hind feet. These features are common to most tortoises. The front legs have scales to protect the tortoise while burrowing. G. polyphemus is dark brown to gray-black in overall color, with a yellow
Behavior
Diet
Gopher tortoises are
Burrowing
Gopher tortoises, like other tortoises of the genus Gopherus, are known for their digging ability. Gopher tortoises spend most of their time in long burrows (up to 80% of their time).[19] On average, these burrows are 15 feet (4.6 m) long and 6.5 feet (2.0 m)[13] deep, but can extend up to 48 feet (15 m) in length and 9.8 feet (3.0 m) deep.[14] The length and depth of the burrow vary with the depth of sand and depth of the water table.[19] In these burrows, the tortoises are protected from summer heat, winter cold, fire, and predators.[14] The burrows are especially common in longleaf pine savannas, where the tortoises are the primary grazers, playing an essential role in their ecosystem.[14] Except during breeding season, gopher tortoises are solitary animals, inhabiting a small home range. Within their range they dig several burrows. On average, each gopher tortoise needs about 4 acres (16,000 m2) to live.[20]
Movement
The gopher tortoise does not usually occupy very large home ranges, they are normally less than 2 hectares in size[21]. The species is also known to move short distances when foraging and seem to stay within 100 meters or less. However, when on the hunt for a new foraging site, gopher tortoises may travel up to 2 miles.
Life span
Gopher tortoises can live more than 40 years.[22] One current specimen, Gus (age 101—the oldest known living gopher tortoise—as of 2024[23][24]), has been living continuously in captivity at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax for 75 years as of 2018[update][25] and is believed to have hatched between 1920 and 1925. Additionally, there are journalistic reports of a specimen in North Texas with a verified age of 75–78 years old.[citation needed]
The gopher tortoise reaches maturity at approximately 10–15 years of age, when their shells are around 9 inches (23 cm) long.[26] Male tortoises reach adulthood at approximately 9–12 years of age, and females take up to 10–21 years to reach maturity.[13] Maturation time may vary based on local resource abundance and latitude. Gopher tortoises prefer to live solitary lifestyles, burrowing alone and only breaking this during mating season[27]
Breeding and reproduction
Gopher tortoises reach sexual maturity between 15-20 years of age, depending on what region the species choses to populate.[28] Sexual reproduction involves courtship rituals. During the mating season females only produce 1 clutch annually between April and November, females lay about 1–25 eggs and incubate them underground for 70–100 days. The sex of the eggs is determined by the temperature where they are incubated in a nest laid below sand. If the sand is over 30 degrees Celsius, it is a female and if below 30 degrees Celsius, the egg is a male. Incubation period can last from 80 to 90 days in Florida and 110 days in South Carolina. The eggs will stay in the uterus of the female for 60 days until oviposition occurs, they will use their uterine epithelium to supply "pumping water", and transport important nutrients to the eggs.[29]
Gopher tortoises may mate from February through September, with a peak throughout May and June.[30] Females may lay clutches of 3–14 eggs,[30] depending on body size, in a sandy mound very close to the entrance of their burrow.
Ninety percent of clutches may be destroyed by predators such as armadillos, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and alligators[26] before the eggs hatch, and less than 6% of eggs are expected to grow into tortoises that live one year or more after hatching.[31] As the tortoises age, they have fewer natural predators.[13] Egg predation rates are unchanged regardless of whether nests are close to or remain far from burrows.[19] Additionally, a denser soil composition may affect hatchlings' ability to emerge due to the hatchlings' apparent inability to dig themselves out of the nest.[19]
Social behavior
It has been suggested that gopher tortoises, more than other tortoise species, exhibit social behavior. While primarily solitary creatures, gopher tortoises live in well-defined colonies which are similar to those of highly social animals such as the prairie dog.[19] The distribution and proximity of burrows might be the consequence of social relationships between tortoises. Some females have been observed visiting the burrows of a particular female repeatedly, even if there are other tortoises nearby. This may be a sort of 'friendship', but such terms are not normally used to describe the relationships between animals.[32][33] Female gopher tortoises generally do not relocate once they have moved into a colony and larger males usually have their burrows adjacent to females in the spring.[34] It has been found that males can travel up to 500m to visit females and their burrows.[35]
Conservation concerns
Historically
Since July 7, 1987, the
The Conservation Clinic at the University of Florida's
In Mississippi, along State Route 63, chain link fences were built to prevent gopher tortoise mortality from traffic. These fences, made from heavy gauge wire for durability, are three feet high and are buried one foot below the surface. The fences have "turnarounds" at either end, which are angled fences that redirect tortoises back into the area from which they come. As of 2003, no roadside gopher tortoise deaths had been reported along Route 63 since the construction of the fences.[45]
On July 27, 2016, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issued a warning to residents and visitors to the state not to paint the shell of a gopher tortoise, as the paint can hinder their ability to absorb vitamins they need from the sun, cause respiratory problems, allow toxic chemicals into the bloodstream, and other harmful effects. The commission has also stated that it is illegal to do so otherwise.[46]
Head-start and release programs have been shown to be effective methods of combating gopher tortoise population decline. At the Yuchi Wildlife Management Area in Burke County, Georgia, during 2014 and 2015 145 tortoises were released and tracked. Survivorship was variable throughout the study but site fidelity remained high. Since tortoises were staying in the same area after release it could be a viable method of population recovery. Release strategy and predator mitigation are essential to its success.[47]
Keystone species
Gopher tortoises are known as a keystone species.[48] The
Additionally, gopher tortoise burrows may benefit plant life by exposing mineral soil favorable for germination.[19]
Habitat conversion
Conversion of gopher tortoise habitat to urban areas, croplands, and pasture, along with adverse forest management practices, has drastically reduced the historic range of the gopher tortoise. The taking of gopher tortoises for sale or use as food or pets has also had a serious effect on some populations. The seriousness of the loss of adult tortoises is magnified by the length of time required for tortoises to reach maturity and their low reproductive rate. According to the website of the Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Florida, current estimates of human predation and road mortality alone are at levels that could offset any annual addition to the population, and sightings of gopher tortoises have become rare in many areas, and the ones sighted are much smaller than in the past.[50] A number of other species also prey upon gopher tortoises, including the raccoon, which is the primary egg and hatchling predator, gray foxes, striped skunks, nine-banded armadillos, dogs, and snakes. Red imported fire ants also have been known to prey on hatchlings. A 1980 report indicated clutch and hatchling losses often approach 90 percent.[51]
In the past, approximately 83,955 gopher tortoises were incidentally taken (destroyed) and 137,759 acres of gopher tortoise habitat was permitted for development in Florida as developers could acquire Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Incidental Take Permits to build in the gopher tortoises' natural habitat. Additional gopher tortoise habitat was lost due to issuance of Special Tortoise Relocation Permits and Standard Tortoise Relocation Permits, but the total acreage of habitat lost and total number of gopher tortoises relocated cannot be estimated due to issuance of these two types of permits. Both the tortoise and their burrows are now protected under state laws. On July 31, 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission implemented new permitting rules requiring developers to relocate tortoises.[52] Starting on April 22, 2009, three types of permits were available in Florida for developers wishing to build on gopher tortoise habitat. Two of these permits allow for the relocation of gopher tortoises, either to some other place on the site being used for construction, or to a recipient site which has been certified by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The third type of permit allows for temporary relocation of tortoises while major utility lines are installed. In the third case, the tortoises are returned to their habitat after construction is complete.[52]
Natural Disaster Threats
Gopher tortoises are sensitive to the stability or quality of the environment that they live in. There have many anthropogenic disturbances to gopher tortoise habitat, such as fire regimes to maintain healthy ecosystems, meaning this may disrupt potential vegetation that is essential to their diet. Though most research has been conducted on upland habitats for gopher tortoises, they also inhabit sand dune ecosystems. Far less is known about these tortoises' role and niche within these coastal environments. However, this also means that they are threatened by human activity causing these tortoises to be subject to sea level rise and irregular and intense hurricane patterns. An increase in storm intensity can lead to the ultimate destruction of these coastal habitats and therefore the species that occupy them, or at the very least misplacement into other unsuitable habitats. Many of these habitats are located on Florida beaches, which have decreased due to development and have left less than 86,000 acres of wild lands.[53] As a result of these storms, tortoises have been moving up in elevation and residing in abandoned burrows that are deeper in order be protected from the hurricanes.[54] This increase in storms may cause a range shift to higher elevation which may result in more human contact, which may reduce their populations over time. Since many beaches in Florida run parallel to trafficked roads and are therefore fragmented ecosystems, this may directly decrease the survival of these coastal gopher tortoises before there is adequate research done to understand the ecological importance that the coastal gopher tortoises contribute.
Human predation
Tortoises are subjected to predation by other animals, including by humans. People have eaten gopher tortoises for thousands of years. During the Great Depression, the gopher tortoise was known as the "Hoover Chicken" because they were eaten by poor people out of work.[44] Some people see gopher tortoise meat as a delicacy, or as simply a free source of meat.[26] Although it is now illegal to hunt gopher tortoises or possess their meat or shells, illegal hunting was still taking place as of 2008[update][55] at an unsustainable rate, with some colonies being driven to extinction.[15][26] In 2006, police uncovered "five pounds of tortoise meat in [a] man's refrigerator" after they spotted empty tortoise shells along a highway in Florida. In nineteen counties in Alabama, as of 2007[update] tortoise was listed as "game species", though one with "no open season".[44]
Gopher tortoises have been kept as pets, preventing them from reproducing in their local populations. Captured gopher tortoises could be raced in
Climate change
Habitat loss
In 1987, human urbanization and various human activities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama caused dramatic declines in the tortoise population, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed them as "endangered". Even though the population declined in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, they were not yet listed as threatened at the time. However, in recent years,
One of the most suitable habitats for gopher tortoise is the longleaf pine ecosystem, which provides suitable well-drained and sandy soils for tortoises to inhabit.[44] Longleaf pine forests include abundant low herbaceous plant growth and open canopy/space for tortoise's eggs to incubate. Since European settlement, longleaf pine decreased in area by an estimated of 96%, which has contributed to an 80% decrease in population densities of gopher tortoise. This means that there is only 4% of longleaf pine remaining.[44] Although federal, state, and privately managed forest lands can harbor a significant number of tortoises, pine plantations with high tree densities can become unsuitable due to the area having an increase in shaded areas, leading to a decrease in ground cover species.[58]
Over its range in the southeast, there are still four large core areas that provide the opportunity to protect large areas of tortoise habitat, as well the biological diversity of the coastal plain.[59] They are (from west to east) De Soto National Forest, Eglin Air Force Base, Apalachicola National Forest, and Okefenokee Swamp in Florida. These areas offer an opportunity to restore forest stands and land areas containing populations of native vertebrate animals threatened by habitat fragmentation. Restoring the natural causal factors of fire, especially, and flooding would also assist in restoring the plant and animal communities.
If Florida's population doubles, 7,000,000 acres (11,000 sq mi; 28,000 km2) of land, which is the size of Vermont, could be developed. 3,000,000 acres (4,700 sq mi; 12,000 km2) of agricultural lands and 2,700,000 acres (4,200 sq mi; 11,000 km2) of unused land will be developed. This will cause more competition for water resources between animals and humans.[60] The low reproductive rate of the tortoise makes it more vulnerable to declines in longleaf ecosystem and extinction.[citation needed]
Habitat fragmentation
Anthropogenic activity appears to not only result in habitat loss but also habitat fragmentation. Turtles and tortoises are strongly impacted by railways, which can act as barriers to movement.[61] Radio telemetry data show that gopher tortoises cross railways significantly less frequently than expected.[62] Tortoises also have poor ability to escape from railways after entering the area between the rails. Railway habituated tortoises (those believed to live near railways and interact with them) and naïve tortoises (those unlikely to frequently interact with railways) do not differ substantially in their railway escape behavior, suggesting that prior experience may not improve tortoises' ability to escape from railways that they have entered.[62] Trenches dug beneath railways can facilitate movement across and escape from railways. As railways are prevalent throughout the gopher tortoise's geographic range, implementation of railway trenches may improve population connectivity and reduce habitat fragmentation.[62]
Diseases
Gopher tortoises are known to contract upper respiratory tract diseases (URTDs) caused by various microorganisms, including the bacterium Mycoplasma agassizii and iridovirus and herpes viruses.[63] Symptoms of URTDs include serous, mucoid, or purulent discharge from the nares, excessive tearing to purulent ocular discharge, conjunctivitis, and edema of the eyelids and ocular glands.[64] M. agassizii is known to exist in tortoises without showing obvious symptoms.[65] Little is known about why some tortoises test positive and live for years, while others become seriously ill and die.[66] The antibiotic enrofloxacin has been used to treat bacterial URTDs in G. polyphemus.[67] However, there is no cure for URTD.[66]
Although long-term studies indicate URTDs can cause population declines in desert tortoise populations 10–15 years after initial infection, studies of such length have not been performed on G. polyphemus. One study, which observed G. polyphemus tortoises in Florida from 2003 to 2006, returned the unexpected observation that tortoises which were
There was a study that found that 14 out of 35 Florida gopher tortoises tested positive for a bacteria called, provisionally, "Candidatus Anaplasma testudinis".[69] These tortoises came into the animal hospitals with anemia and cytoplasmic vacuolization.[70] With this bacteria present, it can cause anaplasmosis, that is thought to damage red blood cells. It can spread by ticks or other biological vectors and this disease is transmittable, but not contagious. Since this disease was so prevalent within the tortoises studied, it is believed that this disease occurs frequently and is common occurrence in wild populations. This then becomes a pressing issue in terms of the conservation efforts put forward to decrease the likelihood of this disease affecting the population counts. More diagnostic tests are necessary to ensure the effective diagnosis and treatment of wild gopher tortoises, as well as a method for the identification and removal of the potential biological vectors.[69] Ticks are the predicted biological vector, but more research needs to be done to identify other potential carriers and which tick species are more likely to spread diseases to gopher tortoises.
Longleaf forest conservation
Since the preservation of the longleaf pine ecosystem in particular is required for the maintenance of the gopher tortoise, conservation efforts are needed to maintain this endangered ecosystem.[19] The longleaf pine ecosystem provides extreme conditions such as "nutrient" deprived soil and "sandy sites" for gopher's habitation. The longleaf pine is a relatively long-lived tree for this region of the world, with individual trees often persisting for several centuries.[71] Conserving these forests would provide the natural habitats gopher tortoises need. The geographic range of the gopher tortoise once encompassed much of the longleaf pine forests of the southeastern United States.[72]
Successful reforestation efforts have been made. According to the Environmental Defense Fund's website, environmentalists and private land owners are working together to maintain the wildlife habitat while maintaining crops productivity. Groups provide assistance to private landowners to ensure funding for conservation incentives to landowners who are willing to preserve wildlife on their soil.[73] Most lands in the East are privately owned. Landowners used "prescribed burns" to restore favorable habitat conditions. Prescribed burns managed by the Safe Harbor Agreement benefits U.S. Fish & Wildlife, serve under Federal Endangered Species Act help reduces and prevents the amount of invasive species that are threatening to the tortoise; invasive species, such as the cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica) and fire ants that disrupt gopher tortoise's habitat and kill tortoise eggs, can be controlled. Prescribed fire is one method to provide sufficient ground for the tortoise and its eggs to survive and maintain biodiversity.[74]
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Further reading
- Daudin FM (1801). Histoire Naturelle, Générale et Particulière des Reptiles; ouvrage faisant suite à l'Histoire générale et particulière, composée par Leclerc de Buffon, et rédigée par C.S. Sonnini, membre des plusieurs sociétés savantes. Tome Second [Volume 2]. Paris: F. Dufart. 432 pp. (Testudo polyphemus, new species, pp. 256–259). (in French and Latin).
- ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Gopherus polyphemus, p. 155).
- ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9. (Gopherus polyphemus, p. 230 + Plate 19 + Figure 205 on p. 459).
- ISBN 0-307-47009-1(hardcover). (Gopherus polyphemus, pp. 62–63).
External links
- Species Gopherus polyphemus at The Reptile Database
- Enchanted Forest Nature Sanctuary: Gopher tortoise
- Gopherus polyphemus Blog of the Digital Library of Georgia