- This article is about a species of turtle. For related species in North America also called the gopher tortoise, see Gopherus
The gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus ) is a species of the genus Gopherus originating from the southeastern United States. Gopher tortoises are seen as a key species because digging holes provide shelter for at least 360 other animal species. They are threatened by habitat predation and destruction.
The gopher tortoise is representative of the genus Gopherus , which contains the only North American native tortoise. The species of this tortoise is a reptile of the state of Georgia and the turtles of the state of Florida.
Video Gopher tortoise
Description
The gopher tortoise is a large enough ground reptile that has a well-adapted front foot for digging, and elephant's rear legs. These features are common to most tortoises. The forelegs have scales to protect the turtles while digging. The color is dark brown to gray-black in overall color, with a yellow plastron (bottom skin). The gular projection is seen on the anterior plastron where the head comes out of the shell. Sexual dimorphism is evident, with male gopher tortoises having a concave plastron, whereas females are flat. In addition, sugar projection on male plastron is generally longer than in women. The length of the carapace can range from 20 to 30 cm (7,9-11,8 inches), with height (to the top of the shell in the center of the body) from 15-37 cm (5.9-14.6 inches). The average body mass is 4 kg (8.8 pounds), with a range of 2-6 kg (4.4 to 13.2 pounds).
Maps Gopher tortoise
Behavior
Diet
Gopher tortoise is a herbivorous scavenger. Their food contains more than 300 plant species. They consume a very large plant, but mainly eat wide-leaved grass, ordinary grass, wiregrass, and terrestrial peas. They also eat mushrooms, and fruits like apple gopher, papaya, blackberry, and saw berries palmetto berries. In addition, gopher tortoises eat flowers from the genera Cnidoscolus (nettle), Tillandsia (Spanish and moss balls), Richardia , and Dyschoriste . Young turtles tend to eat more legumes, higher in protein, and fewer grass and fibrous and fibrous plants than adult turtles. Gopher turtles have been known to scavenge carcasses and eat dirt. As gopher tortoises usually get water from the food they eat, they usually only drink water standing in the extreme dry season.
Burrowing
Gopher tortoises, like other turtles of the genus Gopherus , are known for their digging ability. Gopher tortoises spend most of their time in long burrows, up to 14.5 meters (48 feet) and a depth of 3 meters (9.8 feet). In this burrow, the turtles are protected from the heat of summer, winter, fire, and predators. Liang is very common in the longleaf pine savanna, where turtles are the main grazers, play an important role in their ecosystem. Except during the breeding season, gopher tortoise is a solitary animal, living in a small area. Within their reach, they dug some holes. On average, each tortoise needs about 4 acres (16,000 m 2 ) to live.
Breeding and reproduction
Sexual reproduction involves a courtship ritual. During the mating season between April and November, females lay eggs in the open; about 1-25 eggs incubate underground for 100 days. The sex of an egg is determined by the temperature at which they are incubated in a nest placed under the sand. If the sand is over 30 degrees Celsius, it is female and if it is below 30 degrees Celsius, the egg is male. The incubation period can last from 80-90 days in Florida and 110 days in South Carolina. Gopher tortoises can live for more than 40 years. One specimen has been continuously living in captivity at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History in Halifax for 75 years in 2018 and is believed to hatch between 1920 and 1925. In addition, there are reports of specimen journalism in North Texas with a verified age of 75-78 years.
Gopher tortoises reach maturity in about 10-15 years, when the shell has a length of about 9 inches (23 cm). They can marry from February to September, with peaks throughout May and June. Women can put the grip of 3-14 eggs, depending on body size, on the sand dune very close to the entrance of their burrow.
Ninety percent of the grip can be destroyed by predators such as armadillos, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and crocodiles before the eggs hatch, and less than 6% of eggs are expected to grow into tortoises that live a year or more after hatching.
Conservation concerns
Since July 7, 1987, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has listed Gopherus polyphemus as "Endangered" wherever turtles are found to the west of Mobile and Tombigbee Rivers in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Her status is listed as "Under" in Florida and elsewhere. On November 9, 2009, the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed the drafting of regulations to include the eastern populations of Gopherus polyphemus in the Endangered Wildlife List. G. polyphemus appears on the IUCN Red List as a "Vulnerable" species; However, it has not been assessed for the purposes of this list since 1996. In July 2011, the United States Fish & The Wildlife Service (USFWS) stipulates that the list of eastern populations of turtles as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act is justified, however, prohibited from doing so at this time due to higher priority actions and insufficient funds to initiate proposed rules development. In the interim period USFWS will place the eastern population of the tortoise in its list of candidate species until sufficient funding is available to initiate the proposed listing rule.
The University of Florida Conservation Clinic Center for Government Responsibility Levin College of Law describes five major threats to turtle populations, they are: (1) loss of habitat through human development, (2) habitat loss through poor supervision, (3) human desire to use them as pets or meat, (4) relocation causing disruption of the population, and (5) diseases caused by relocation.
Gopher tortoises are known as key species. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission states that gopher tortoises provide shelter of 350 to 400 species. Liang is used to feed, rest, reproduce, and protect from extreme temperatures, moisture loss, and predators. These species include gopher frogs (Ryan capito), some snake species, such as Eastern Eastern snake ( Drymarchon couperi ), small invertebrates, and owls digging ( Athene cunicularia ). Therefore, conservation efforts that focus on gopher turtles also help this species.
Conversion of gopher turtle habitat to urban areas, farmland, and grasslands, along with adverse forest management practices, has drastically reduced the historical reach of gopher turtles. Taking gopher tortoises for sale or use as food or pets also has a serious effect on some populations. The seriousness of the loss of adult turtles is magnified by the length of time it takes for the turtles to reach their low maturity and reproductive rates. According to the Brevard Zoo website in Melbourne, Florida, current estimates of human predation and road mortality alone are at a level that can offset any annual population increase, and sightings of gopher turtles have become scarce in many areas, and that look much smaller than in the past. A number of other species also prey on gopher turtles, including raccoons, which are the main eggs and hatching predators, gray fox, striped skunks, nine armadillo bandits, dogs, and snakes. Red imported fire ants are also known to prey on hatching. A 1980 report showed the loss of clutches and hatchlings often approaching 90 percent
In the past, about 83,955 gopher turtles were accidentally picked (destroyed) and 137,759 hectares of gopher turtle habitat were allowed for development in Florida because the developers were able to obtain Fish Conservation Permits and Wildlife Considental from Florida to establish the natural habitat of gopher tortoise. Additional gopher turtle habitat is lost due to the release of the Relocation of the Special Turtle Relocation and Standard Turtle Relocation License, but the total area of ​​lost habitat and total number of displaced tortoise gopher can not be estimated due to the issuance of these two types of permits. On July 31, 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission adopted new licensing rules requiring developers to relocate turtles. Beginning April 22, 2009, three types of permits are available in Florida for developers who want to build a gopher turtle habitat. Two of these permits allow for the relocation of gopher turtles, either elsewhere on sites used for construction, or to recipient sites that have been certified by the Florida Fish and Conservation Commission. The third type of permit allows for temporary relocation of turtles while the main utility lane is installed. In the third case, the tortoise is returned to its habitat after construction is completed.
In Mississippi, along State Route 63, chain fences are made to prevent the death of a gopher turtle from traffic. These fences, made of heavy wire for durability, three feet high and buried one foot below the surface. The fence has a "turnaround" at both ends, which is a sloping fence that redirects the turtles back to their original home region. In 2003, no roadside turtle deaths were reported along Route 63 since the construction of the fence.
Predation of man
Turtles become targets of predation by other animals, including by humans. People have been eating gopher tortoise for thousands of years. During the Great Depression, gopher turtles are known as "Hoover Chicken" because they are eaten by poor people who do not work. Some people see gopher turtle meat as a delicacy, or just as a source of free meat. While it is now illegal to hunt for gopher turtles or have their meat or shells, illegal hunting continues on an unsustainable level, with some endangered colonies. In 2006, police found "five pounds of turtle meat in the [a] man's refrigerator after they saw the shell of an empty turtle along a Florida highway. In nineteen districts in Alabama, turtles are listed as "game species", although one of them is "no open season".
Gopher turtles have been kept as pets, preventing them from reproducing in their local populations. Gopher tortoise captured can be driven in a turtle race. This practice was banned in Florida in 1989. Moving a turtle can have harmful consequences to the environment from which it came, because the tortoise is often not returned to the same spot where it was found. Also, since turtle racing involves several turtles in close proximity to one another, the disease can easily spread from one turtle to another. If an infected turtle is then returned to the environment, other turtles may be infected.
Climate change
Climate change poses another challenge for Gopher turtles through habitat change, but they adapt through natural selection. According to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fish and Commission in Florida, rising temperatures and changes in rainfall patterns can increase the number of invasive species that, if adapted to these environmental changes, can expel native plants important to turtle diet. Invasive species can cause habitat fragmentation and increase stress on Gopher turtles and other native animals. Warmer temperatures can cause sea levels to rise and more storms to occur. The rainy season and extreme drought will cause less land available. There will also be an increase or decrease in water availability. A one-meter increase in sea level causes a loss of 20% of the existing conservation area and 30% of natural habitat. However, based on current sea level rise, a one-meter rise in sea level will occur only after several centuries of travel. As sea levels rise, this will move the storm closer to land and affect the coastal and marine environment. Species can move to the mainland because there are fewer accessible land. This may increase the spread of the disease or interrupt the cycle and reproduction of food.
Habitat loss
In 1987, human urbanization and human activities in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama caused a dramatic decline in turtle populations, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service listed them as "endangered". Although the population declined in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, they have not been listed as endangered at the time. However, in recent years, habitat loss has been increasing as the southern states continue to experience growth in human populations, and expand road construction. The southeast has seen an increase of 20% of the human population between 1990 and 2000.
One of the most suitable habitats for gopher turtles is the longleaf pine ecosystem, which provides well-drained soil and sandy for tortoises to live in. The Longleaf pine forest includes abundant herbaceous plant growth and an open canopy/space for turtle eggs to incubate. Since European settlement, longleaf pine has decreased in areas with an estimated 96%, which has contributed to a 80% reduction in population density of gopher tortoise. This means there are only 4% of the remaining longleaf pine.
Over its reach in the southeast, there are still four large core areas that provide an opportunity to protect large areas of turtle habitats, as well as the biodiversity of coastal plains. They (from west to east) De Soto National Forest, Eglin Air Force Base, Apalachicola National Forest, and Okefenokee-Oceola. These areas offer an opportunity to restore forest stands and lands containing native animal vertebrate populations threatened by landscape fragmentation. Restoring the natural causes of fires, in particular, and floods will also help restore plant and animal communities.
Gopher turtles potentially lose 700 acres (2.8 km 2 ) of their habitats if the Florida population doubles. Due to the development of land and human activities, 7,000,000 hectares (28,000 km 2 ) of land, which is a measure of Vermont, will be developed. 3,000,000 acres (12,000 km 2 ) of agricultural land and 2.7 million acres (11,000 km 2 ) of unused land will be developed. This will lead to more competition for water resources between animals and humans. The low reproductive rate of the tortoise makes it more susceptible to declines in longleaf ecosystems and extinctions.
Disease
Gopher turtles are known to suffer from upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) caused by various microorganisms, including bacteria Mycoplasma agassizii and iridovirus and herpes viruses. URTD symptoms include serous, mucoid, or purulent discharge from nares, excessive rupture in ocular purulent discharge, conjunctivitis, and edema of the eyelid and ocular gland. M. agassizii is known to exist in the turtle without showing any obvious symptoms. Enrofloxacin antibiotics have been used to treat bacterial URTD in G. polyphemus .
Although long-term studies show that URTD can cause a population decline in the desert tortoise population 10-15 years after the initial infection, studies of that length have not been done on G. polyphemus. One study, which observed the Florida turtle G. polyphemus from 2003-06, restored the unexpected observation that seropositive tortoises for URTD antibodies were less likely to die during that time than seronegative turtles. However, more seropositive population habitats have more remains of dead turtles. The researchers offer an explanation that the tortoise has survived the initial infection, then developed a chronic disease. This evidence may imply a possible acute effect on death, followed by chronic disease in survivors. Further research is needed to better understand the effects of URTD on this species.
Longleaf forest conservation
Since longleaf pine ecosystems are needed for the maintenance of gopher turtles, conservation efforts are needed to maintain this endangered ecosystem. The longleaf pine ecosystem provides extreme conditions such as "nutrients" of deprived land and "sandy sites" for gopher habitats. The longleaf pine tree is a relatively long-lived tree for this region of the world, with individual trees often lasting for several centuries. Preserving this forest will provide the natural habitat needed by the tortoises.
Successful reforestation efforts have been made. According to the Environmental Defense Fund website, environmentalists and private landowners work together to safeguard wildlife habitats while maintaining crop productivity. Groups provide assistance to private landholders to ensure funding for conservation incentives to landowners willing to preserve wildlife on their land. Most of the land in the East is private property. Landowners use "prescribed burns" to restore favorable habitat conditions. The specified burns administered by the Safe Harbor Treaty benefit the US Fish & Wildlife, functioning under the Federal Endangered Species Act Act to help reduce and prevent the number of invasive species threatening the turtle; species such as (1) cogongrass alias Imperata cylindrica and (2) fire ants interfere with tortoise gopher habitat and kill turtle eggs can be controlled. The specified fire is one of the methods to provide enough soil for turtles and eggs to survive and preserve biodiversity.
References
- Quote
- References Shearer, Benjamin F.; Shearer, Barbara S. (1994). Country name, seal, flag and symbol (issue 2). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBNÃ, 0-313-28862-3.
- Nature Forest Sanctuary: Gopher tortoise
- Gopherus Polyphemus Blog from the Georgia Digital Library
External links
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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