Turtle usage of urban ditches in an expanding northeast Arkansas City.

摘要

Human expansion has contributed to the reduction of wildlife biodiversity across the globe. Turtles are one of many taxonomic groups that have experienced increased decline in the last few decades from anthropogenic expansion. Turtles have been able to persist in habitats heavily modified by humans; yet, little is known about the ecology of these urban populations. The present investigation focused on urban ditch characteristics associated with high turtle abundance and richness. From May to August of 2011 and 2012, 452 turtles of six different species were captured in seven ditch systems in Jonesboro, Craighead County, AR. Possible influences of ditch characteristics on turtle abundance and species richness were assessed using generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs). Models with habitat size (comprised of ditch length, ditch width, ditch depth, and buffer zone width) as the only explanatory variable accounted for the largest amount of variation in both turtle abundance and species richness.