Radiotelemetry Study of a Desert Tortoise Population: Sand Hill Training Mea, Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California

摘要

A desert tortoise radiotelemetry study was conducted at Sand Hill Training Area of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC), Twentynine Palms, CA, in the southcentral Mojave Desert. Two square study plots were established, each 9 km(2). Twenty-nine adult tortoises with approximately equal numbers of both genders were monitored for 2 years (1995-1996) with AVM radiotelemetry transmitters. A number of parameters were evaluated for desert tortoises: home range size, activity levels, burrow use, annual weight changes, and burrow metrics (condition or age, association with perennial vegetation, width, height, and depth). Comparisons were made with a simultaneous study in a similar, but pristine, habitat at Pinto Basin in Joshua Tree National Park. Statistical comparisons were made for three parameters: home range size, number of burrows used, and distance traveled between successive recaptures.