Long-Distance Dispersal by a Northern Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii)
Northern Bog Turtles usually stay in small fens, but a marked young male in Massachusetts was found 3.9 km from its study site two years later, showing rare long‑distance dispersal similar to southern populations. The event highlights movement potential despite challenges tracking this small species.
Subject Tags
- Life Sciences
- Biodiversity
Abstract
Ecological studies of Glyptemys muhlenbergii (Bog Turtle) in the northern part of their range—from New England to Maryland—generally report that individuals exhibit high interannual fidelity to small, isolated, graminoid-dominated fens over periods up to several decades. However, relatively long-distance dispersal (to 4.0 km) events have been documented in southern populations from Virginia to Georgia. Studies of dispersal in Bog Turtles are generally hindered by the small size of the adult turtle, which limits the size, signal strength, and battery capacity of traditional VHF transmitters and other tracking methods. We report the apparent long-distance dispersal of a young male Bog Turtle marked at a long-term study site in Massachusetts in June 2018 and found dead on a residential homeowner's driveway 3.9 km to the north 2 years later.
Citation
Jones, M.T., Sirois-Pitel, A., Tesauro, J. and Wendell, R., 2024. Long-distance dispersal by a northern Bog Turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii). Northeastern Naturalist, 31(sp12), pp.G79-G84. https://doi.org/10.1656/045.031.s1218
TNC Authors
-
Angela Sirois-Pitel
Watershed Conservation Manager, Massachusetts
The Nature Conservancy
Email: asirois@tnc.org