Growth of the Tortoise Gopherus polyphemus in Slash Pine Plantations of Southcentral Alabama

We examined growth patterns of gopher tortoises in slash pine plantations using recapture data from a five-year period. Growth data were fitted to the von Bertalanffy and logistic asymptotic growth models. The von Bertalanffy model provided the best fit to the recapture data. Gopher tortoises grew m...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Herpetologica 1999-12, Vol.55 (4), p.499-506
Main Authors: Aresco, Matthew J., Guyer, Craig
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Concavity
Forbs
Forest growth
Herpetology
Human growth
National forests
Plantations
Population growth
Tortoises
Vegetation
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Summary:We examined growth patterns of gopher tortoises in slash pine plantations using recapture data from a five-year period. Growth data were fitted to the von Bertalanffy and logistic asymptotic growth models. The von Bertalanffy model provided the best fit to the recapture data. Gopher tortoises grew more slowly than they did in any other published study and were estimated to require at least 20 years to attain sexual maturity. Intensive soil disturbance associated with site preparation and conversion to pine plantations in the 1970's destroyed much of the native ground cover. Therefore, slow growth, which resulted in delayed maturity, was attributed to poor forage quality of sparse ground cover vegetation, especially legume and nonlegume forbs. Our study provides evidence that anthropogenic activities associated with historic widespread conversion of longleaf pine habitats to pine plantations may continue to impact current gopher tortoise populations.
ISSN:0018-0831
1938-5099