Abstract or Keywords
Large-scale Gopher Tortoise translocations are a widespread practice to remove tortoises from imminent dangers of habitat loss for human development. However, translocation for explicit conservation goals remains an infrequently-utilized and untested tool to conserve this at-risk species. Given the effects of density on tortoise movement and population viability, we conducted a conservation effort to increase the population density of a low-density tortoise population on a public property in southern Alabama. Efforts included consolidating the resident tortoises from a fire-suppressed landscape into a temporary enclosure located in a high-quality restored sandhill. We also headstarted two cohorts of hatchlings from the site for one and two years. In total, 100 resident tortoises were consolidated into the enclosure and 98 headstarted juvenile tortoises were released into the nearby area into both soft- and hard-release conditions. Using radiotelemtry of a sub-population of consolidated adults tracked for two seasons (before and after the enclosure was removed), we found that site fidelity of the adults was 69% in the area enclosed by the pen and 93% in the wider-managed site. Adult home range area was not significantly different between the years that adult tortoises were enclosed in the pen and the year after the pen was removed. A subpopulation of two-year old headstarts was also radiotracked. Radiotracked headstarts had 100% site fidelity, regardless of release condition, and home ranges significantly decreased over the study period. Mortality was extremely low in all groups. We further discuss how this research may contribute to effective strategies for the demographic management of low-density tortoise populations, particularly in the species’ distributional periphery.