AUTHORS: Mirabai Moseley (presenter), Purdue University Fort Wayne; Dr. Bruce Kingsbury, Purdue University Fort Wayne
ABSTRACT: Habitat fragmentation has been found to reduce biodiversity by up to 75%. Reptiles are predicted to be especially sensitive to fragmentation. Blanding’s Turtles are experiencing a decline across most of their range due to habitat loss and fragmentation. Maintaining landscapes of connected wetlands and upland nesting habitat is crucial for Blanding’s Turtle survival. In this study, we are investigating the movement of Blanding’s Turtles across a mixed landscape of high-quality habitat and developed land in Northern Michigan. I am attaching GPS data loggers to Blanding’s Turtles to gather movement and habitat use data, with the intent to identify any trends in corridors used that may be useful in Blanding’s Turtle conservation, and to identify corridors and barriers to movement at my study site for management purposes. I will create a resistance surface based on turtle habitat use that will be used to map linkages between core wetland habitats via circuit theory.
