| Environmental conditions influence box turtle movements on multiple temporal scales as they navigate their home ranges. This study focuses on the impacts of seasonal shift and sex on straight-line distances traveled, movements along elevations, and home range sizes in the Eastern Box Turtle, Terrapene c. carolina. Radio telemetry was used to track nine T. c. carolina (5 males; 4 females) from May to October 2010 at Beech Fork State Park in Wayne County, West Virginia. Turtles were tracked once a day at two-day intervals. At each turtle location, microhabitat variables recorded were: relative humidity, soil and ground surface temperature, canopy and shrub cover, and substrate type. Results showed seasonal influence (P<0.05) on both home range sizes and distances traveled with no apparent differences between sexes (P>0.05). Movements along elevations were significantly different between sexes (P=0.006) and not strongly influenced by seasonality. |
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