MOJAVE DESERT TORTOISE (GOPHERUS AGASSIZII) MORTALITY AND INJURY FOLLOWING THE COTTONWOOD TRAIL FIRE IN RED CLIFFS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA, UTAH

摘要

We report the results of standardized surveys to determine Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) direct mortality and injury as a result of the 2020 Cottonwood Trail Fire in the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Utah. We encountered 14 tortoise remains attributed to fire, one fire-injured tortoise, and three live tortoises within a 250-ha area of burned tortoise habitat. We used an infrared-equipped trail camera to monitor the health of a fire-injured tortoise at a burrow site. The camera recorded the first observation of a desert woodrat (Neotoma lepida) feeding on a live, fire-injured desert tortoise. We hypothesize that desert woodrat carnivory of fire-injured tortoises in burrows might contribute to indirect (and undetected) firerelated tortoise mortality.