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At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
USGS2023

Monkeypox virus in animals: Current knowledge of viral transmission and pathogenesis in wild animal reservoirs and captive animal models

Mpox, formerly called monkeypox, is now the most serious orthopoxvirus (OPXV) infection in humans. This zoonotic disease has been gradually re-emerging in humans with an increasing frequency of cases found in endemic areas, as well as an escalating frequency and size of epidemics outside of endemic areas in Africa. Currently, the largest known mpox epidemic is spreading throughout the world, with over 85,650 cases to date, mostly in Europe and North America. These increased endemic cases and epidemics are likely driven primarily by decreasing global immunity to OPXVs, along with other possible causes. The current unprecedented global outbreak of mpox has demonstrated higher numbers of human cases and greater human-to-human transmission than previously documented, necessitating an urgent need to better understand this disease in humans and animals. Monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections in animals, both naturally occurring and experimental, have provided critical information about the routes of transmission; the viral pathogenicity factors; the methods of control, such as vaccination and antivirals; the disease ecology in reservoir host species; and the conservation impacts on wildlife species. This review briefly described the epidemiology and transmission of MPXV between animals and humans and summarizes past studies on the ecology of MPXV in wild animals and experimental studies in captive animal models, with a focus on how animal infections have informed knowledge concerning various aspects of this pathogen. Knowledge gaps were highlighted in areas where future research, both in captive and free-ranging animals, could inform efforts to understand and control this disease in both humans and animals.

Viruses↗
USGS2018

Land mollusks of the California Channel Islands: An overview of diversity, populations, and conservation status

The land snails and slugs have the highest level of endemism among all major animal groups on the California Channel Islands, with nearly 75% of the native terrestrial species confined to one or more of the 8 islands. In spite of this endemism, and in spite of the rarity of some species, the snails and slugs are one of the most poorly known groups. We present the first comprehensive overview of the land mollusk fauna of the Channel Islands, along with the results of recent intensive inventory studies. Surveys on San Clemente Island have increased the number of land mollusk species known from that island by 50%, and a single survey trip to Santa Rosa Island more than doubled the number of species known on that island. More additions to the land snail and slug fauna are certain for the poorly surveyed northern Channel Islands. This new information has provided insight into trends in species diversity and biogeographic patterns, with marked differences in species composition between the northern and southern islands. Our surveys to date suggest a strong link between the recovery of native vegetation on the islands and the population status of land snails and slugs, with substantially larger numbers of native mollusks on those islands that have been free of nonnative mammals the longest. Survey work is continuing, but it is clear that some very rare endemic snails and slugs on the islands merit specific management attention.

California↗
USGS2009

Prey choice and habitat use drive sea otter pathogen exposure in a resource-limited coastal system

The processes promoting disease in wild animal populations are highly complex, yet identifying these processes is critically important for conservation when disease is limiting a population. By combining field studies with epidemiologic tools, we evaluated the relationship between key factors impeding southern sea otter ( Enhydra lutris nereis ) population growth: disease and resource limitation. This threatened population has struggled to recover despite protection, so we followed radio-tagged sea otters and evaluated infection with 2 disease-causing protozoal pathogens, Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis neurona , to reveal risks that increased the likelihood of pathogen exposure. We identified patterns of pathogen infection that are linked to individual animal behavior, prey choice, and habitat use. We detected a high-risk spatial cluster of S. neurona infections in otters with home ranges in southern Monterey Bay and a coastal segment near San Simeon and Cambria where otters had high levels of infection with T. gondii . We found that otters feeding on abalone, which is the preferred prey in a resource-abundant marine ecosystem, had a very low risk of infection with either pathogen, whereas otters consuming small marine snails were more likely to be infected with T. gondii . Individual dietary specialization in sea otters is an adaptive mechanism for coping with limited food resources along central coastal California. High levels of infection with protozoal pathogens may be an adverse consequence of dietary specialization in this threatened species, with both depleted resources and disease working synergistically to limit recovery.

California↗
USGS2002

Lyme disease and conservation

Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that is widespread in North America, especially in the northeastern and northcentral United States. This disease could negatively influence efforts to conserve natural populations in two ways: (1) the disease could directly affect wild animal health; and (2) tick control efforts could adversely affect natural populations and communities. Lyme disease affects several domestic animals, but symptoms have been reported in only a few wild species. Direct effects of Lyme disease on wild animal populations have not been reported, but the disease should be considered as a possible cause in cases of unexplained population declines in endemic areas. Methods available to manage ticks and Lyme disease include human self-protection techniques, manipulation of habitats and host species populations, biological control, and pesticide applications. The diversity of available techniques allows selection of approaches to minimize environmental effects by (1) emphasizing personal protection techniques, (2) carefully targeting management efforts to maximize efficiency, and (3) integrating environmentally benign techniques to improve management while avoiding broad-scale environmentally destructive approaches. The environmental effects of Lyme disease depend, to a large extent, on the methods chosen to minimize human exposure to infected ticks. Conservation biologists can help design tick management programs that effectively lower the incidence of human Lyme disease while simultaneously minimizing negative effects on natural populations.

Conservation Biology↗
USGS2015

Annual Report: 2014: Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC)

Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) was established in 1999 to address the widespread declines, extinctions, and range reductions of amphibians and reptiles, with a focus on conservation of taxa and habitats in North America. Amphibians and reptiles are affected by a broad range of human activities, both as incidental effects of habitat alteration and direct effects from overexploitation; these animals are also burdened by humans attitudes – that amphibians and reptiles are either dangerous or of little environmental or economic value. However, PARC members understand these taxa are important parts of our natural and cultural heritage and they serve important roles in ecosystems throughout the world. With many amphibians and reptiles classified as threatened with extinction, conservation to ensure healthy populations of these animals has never been more important. As you will see herein, PARC’s 15th anniversary has been marked with major accomplishments and an ever-increasing momentum. With your help, PARC can continue to build on its successes and protect these vital species.

Report↗
USGS2022

Are wild wolves southpaws? Including potential conservation implications

Lateralization, or a left-right bias in behavior (e.g., handedness), was originally thought to exclusively exist in humans, but is now known to be widespread. Lateralization can exist at the individual or group level. In dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ), tests of paw preference have produced inconsistent results. Because wolves ( C. l. ) differ genetically, morphologically, and behaviorally from dogs, I was interested in assessing them for lateralization. I examined lateralization (right versus left) of the foot captured (a step test analog) of wild wolves ( n = 93) trapped for radiocollaring purposes in the Superior National Forest, Minnesota from 2011 – 2017 and 2019. No support was found for lateralization, and sex and age class were not significant predictors of which foot was captured. Because many mammals demonstrate lateralization, and because population-level lateralization is thought to convey increased social cohesion, it is surprising that wild wolves did not demonstrate population level lateralization. This step test analog may not have been an appropriate measure (as lateralization is task dependent) and / or wolf lateralization may exist at the individual level, but not the population level. Future work on wolf lateralization at both the individual and population levels examining pawedness via multiple tasks while accounting for potential confounding factors (such as different rearing conditions and methods) could provide clarification. Examining potential trade-offs between the costs and benefits of lateralization that these highly social animals may incur would be very interesting in terms of evolution and in comparison with dogs. Furthermore, because lateralization has been connected to emotional functioning and animal welfare, baseline lateralization data from wild wolves may inform captive wolf management and conservation, including the captive breeding programs for endangered Mexican wolves ( C. l. baileyi ) and red wolves ( C. rufus ) and other programs (e.g., educational facilities).

Animal Behavior and Cognition↗
USGS1998

Higher temporal variability of forest breeding bird communities in fragmented landscapes

Understanding the relationship between animal community dynamics and landscape structure has become a priority for biodiversity conservation. In particular, predicting the effects of habitat destruction that confine species to networks of small patches is an important prerequisite to conservation plan development. Theoretical models that predict the occurrence of species in fragmented landscapes, and relationships between stability and diversity do exist. However, reliable empirical investigations of the dynamics of biodiversity have been prevented by differences in species detection probabilities among landscapes. Using long-term data sampled at a large spatial scale in conjunction with a capture-recapture approach, we developed estimates of parameters of community changes over a 22-year period for forest breeding birds in selected areas of the eastern United States. We show that forest fragmentation was associated not only with a reduced number of forest bird species, but also with increased temporal variability in the number of species. This higher temporal variability was associated with higher local extinction and turnover rates. These results have major conservation implications. Moreover, the approach used provides a practical tool for the study of the dynamics of biodiversity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences↗
USGS2017

Defining and classifying migratory habitats as sources and sinks: The migratory pathway approach

Understanding and conserving migratory species requires a method for characterizing the seasonal flow of animals among habitats. Source-sink theory describes the metapopulation dynamics of species by classifying habitats as population sources (i.e. net contributors) or sinks (i.e. net substractors). Migratory species may have non-breeding habitats important to the species (e.g. overwintering or stopover habitats) that traditional source-sink theory would classify as sinks because these habitats produce no individuals. Conversely, existing migratory network models can evaluate the relative contribution of non-breeding nodes, but these models make an equilibrium assumption that is difficult to meet when examining real migratory populations. We extend a pathway-based metric allowing breeding habitats, non-breeding habitats and migratory pathways connecting these habitats to be classified as sources or sinks. Rather than being based on whether place- or season-specific births exceed deaths, our approach quantifies the total demographic contribution from a node or migratory pathway over a flexibly defined yet limited time period across an organism's life cycle. As such, it provides a snapshot of a migratory system and therefore does not require assumptions associated with equilibrium dynamics. We first develop a generalizable mathematical notation and then demonstrate how the metric may be used with two case studies: the common loon ( Gavia immer ) and Yellowstone cutthroat trout ( Oncorhynchus clarkii bouvieri ). These examples highlight how stressors can impact stopover and wintering habitats (loons) and habitat management targeting migratory pathways can improve population status (trout). Synthesis and applications . Each of the two case studies presented describes how effects at one location are felt by populations in another through the seasonal flow of individuals. The contribution metric we present should be helpful in allocating regulatory and management attention to times and locations most critical to migratory species persistence.

Journal of Applied Ecology↗
USGS2015

Seasonally-dynamic presence-only species distribution models for a cryptic migratory bat impacted by wind energy development

Understanding seasonal distribution and movement patterns of animals that migrate long distances is an essential part of monitoring and conserving their populations. Compared to migratory birds and other more conspicuous migrants, we know very little about the movement patterns of many migratory bats. Hoary bats ( Lasiurus cinereus ), a cryptic, wide-ranging, long-distance migrant, comprise a substantial proportion of the tens to hundreds of thousands of bat fatalities estimated to occur each year at wind turbines in North America. We created seasonally-dynamic species distribution models (SDMs) from 2,753 museum occurrence records collected over five decades in North America to better understand the seasonal geographic distributions of hoary bats. We used 5 SDM approaches: logistic regression, multivariate adaptive regression splines, boosted regression trees, random forest, and maximum entropy and consolidated outputs to generate ensemble maps. These maps represent the first formal hypotheses for sex- and season-specific hoary bat distributions. Our results suggest that North American hoary bats winter in regions with relatively long growing seasons where temperatures are moderated by proximity to oceans, and then move to the continental interior for the summer. SDMs suggested that hoary bats are most broadly distributed in autumn—the season when they are most susceptible to mortality from wind turbines; this season contains the greatest overlap between potentially suitable habitat and wind energy facilities. Comparing wind-turbine fatality data to model outputs could test many predictions, such as ‘risk from turbines is highest in habitats between hoary bat summering and wintering grounds’. Although future field studies are needed to validate the SDMs, this study generated well-justified and testable hypotheses of hoary bat migration patterns and seasonal distribution.

PLoS ONE↗
USGS2012

Phosphorus and groundwater: Establishing links between agricultural use and transport to streams

Phosphorus is a highly reactive element that is essential for life and forms a variety of compounds in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. In water, phosphorus may be present as the orthophosphate ion (PO 4 3- ) and is also present in all life forms as an essential component of cellular material. In natural ecosystems, phosphorus is derived from the erosion of rocks and is conserved for plant growth as it is returned to the soil through animal waste and the decomposition of plant and animal tissue; but in agricultural systems, a portion of the phosphorus is removed with each harvest, especially since phosphorus is concentrated in the seeds and fruit. Phosphorus is added to soil by using chemical fertilizers, manure, and composted materials. Agricultural use of chemical phosphorus fertilizer, in the United States, in 2008 was 4,247,000 tons, which is an increase of 25 percent since 1964 (http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FertilizerUse/). Widely grown corn, soybeans, and wheat use the greatest amount of phosphorus fertilizer among agricultural crops. Phosphorus is largely retained in soil by a process called adsorption. Soils have a limited capacity to store phosphorus, and once the capacity of soil to adsorb phosphorus is exceeded, the excess will dissolve and move more freely with water either directly to a stream or downward to an aquifer. Surface-water runoff from rainstorms or excess irrigation is the primary way that phosphorus or soil containing phosphorus is transported to streams in most watersheds. There is a growing awareness that long-term over-application of manure and chemical fertilizer contributes to phosphorus movement into the groundwater system, resulting in a significant groundwater source of phosphorus to streams and lakes, as well as potential contamination of the groundwater resources. Leaching of applied fertilizer and surface runoff of phosphorus from the soil can contribute to excess growth of algae in downstream water bodies, a condition known as eutrophication. Excessive amounts of algae in eutrophic water bodies can cause large daily changes in the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water because oxygen concentrations tend to be high during daylight hours as a result of photosynthetic activity but then decrease at night. Low concentrations of dissolved oxygen can stress or kill sensitive species living in the water. This study examined concentrations and movement of phosphorus in the soils and groundwater in five agricultural settings across the United States characterized by differences in soil geochemistry, climate, irrigation usage, and cropping systems to assess potential phosphorus movement in the soil and groundwater under common agricultural conditions. The study design included assessment of a variety of agricultural practices, especially cropping patterns and irrigation, so that the factors that contribute to phosphorus movement to groundwater, or sequestration of the phosphorus to soil could be compared and examined. This type of information could potentially be used to formulate best management practices to limit the transport of phosphorus from the agricultural fields.

Fact Sheet↗
USGS2021

Can identifying discrete behavioral groups with individual-based acoustic telemetry advance the understanding of fish distribution patterns?

Identifying patterns of organismal distribution can provide valuable insights for basic and applied marine and coastal ecology because understanding where animals are located is foundational to both research and science-based conservation. Understanding variation in distributional patterns can lead to a better assessment of ecological drivers and an improved ability to predict consequences of natural and altered relationships. Here, our purpose is to explore if quantifying coexisting groups of individual fish predators advances our understanding of field distribution patterns. Toward this end, we quantified locations of 59 acoustically tagged striped bass ( Morone saxatilis) within a 26-stationary unit telemetry receiver array in Plum Island Estuary (PIE), MA, United States. We then used cluster analyses on spatial and temporal-spatial metrics from this dataset to (1) assess if distinct groups of individuals coexisted, (2) quantify group characteristics, and (3) test associations between groups and distribution (e.g., physical site type and region). Based on multiple lines of evidence, we identified four groups of striped bass with different space use patterns that persisted across seasons (summer and fall). Similar-sized striped bass clustered at spatial and temporal scales at which individuals within distinct groups could, and did, physically overlap. In addition, distributional groups were linked to components of physical site type and region suggesting that discrete groups of individuals can interact differently with the environment within the same ecological system. The identification of these distinct groups of individuals creates a baseline from which to explore further ecological implications of grouping behavior for research and conservation in geographically large, temporally dynamic, and spatially heterogeneous marine and coastal environments.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2025

Variation in habitat selection by male Strix nebulosa (Great Gray Owls) across the diel cycle

Despite the long-standing recognition that animals partition activities, for example, across different periods of the day, understanding of how habitat selection varies according to specific temporal periods or behavioral activities remains limited for most species. For example, although much of the animal kingdom is nocturnally active, studies that characterize nocturnal behavior remain relatively rare, which precludes a thorough understanding of key habitats. We used Global Positioning System tracking and remotely-sensed environmental data to evaluate whether breeding-season habitat selection by adult male Strix nebulosa (Great Gray Owls) ( n = 19) varied across diel periods (dawn, day, dusk, and night). We focused on male owls because their habitat selection remains largely unknown despite the critical role they play as food provisioners. To address knowledge gaps related to nocturnal habitat, we also evaluated finer-scale, microhabitat selection by male owls at night. Owls were more active during dusk through dawn, suggesting that owls forage during crepuscular and nighttime periods and roost during the day. Owls avoided herbaceous wetlands during the day but strongly selected them at dawn, dusk, and night, indicating time-dependent habitat selection. Moreover, owls avoided dry meadows at all times of the day, suggesting that wet rather than xeric meadows are important for foraging. Owls also selected nighttime microhabitats that facilitated foraging, such as those with the presence of primary prey and open understories. During the daytime, owls chose areas with closed canopies and increased soil moisture, which likely provided suitable roosting habitat. Owls avoided development but selected areas closer to roads, particularly containing preferred habitats. Understanding of habitat selection across activity periods, temporal windows, and other contexts can improve the conservation of critical habitat for wildlife. Our work contributes to understanding of how animals balance resources related to food provisioning versus safety, both of which are critical for individual fitness and population persistence.

Wyoming↗
USGS2018

Challenges and opportunities developing mathematical models of shared pathogens of domestic and wild animals

Diseases that affect both wild and domestic animals can be particularly difficult to prevent, predict, mitigate, and control. Such multi-host diseases can have devastating economic impacts on domestic animal producers and can present significant challenges to wildlife populations, particularly for populations of conservation concern. Few mathematical models exist that capture the complexities of pathogens, yet development of such models would allow us to estimate and compare the potential effectiveness of management actions for mitigating or suppressing disease in wildlife and/or livestock host populations. We conducted a workshop in March 2014 to identify the challenges associated with developing models of pathogen transmission across the wildlife-livestock interface. The development of mathematical models of pathogen transmission at this interface is hampered by the difficulties associated with describing the host-pathogen systems including: 1) the identity of wildlife hosts, their distributions, and movement patterns, 2) the pathogen transmission pathways between wildlife and domestic animals, 3) the effects of the disease and concomitant mitigation efforts on wild and domestic animal populations, and 4) barriers to communication between sectors. To promote the development of mathematical models of transmission at this interface, we recommend further integration of modern quantitative techniques and improvement of communication among wildlife biologists, mathematical modelers, veterinary medicine professionals, producers, and other stakeholders concerned with the consequences of pathogen transmission at this important, yet poorly understood, interface.

Veterinary Sciences↗
USGS1990

Growth and equilibrium in sea otter populations

(1) Counts through time were compiled for five sea otter ( Enhydra lutris ) populations in the north-east Pacific Ocean that were below equilibrium density: Attu Island, south-east Alaska, British Columbia, Washington State, and central California. Similar data were obtained from the equilibrium density population at Amchitka Island in 1971 and 1986. (2) Shorelines of Attu and Amchitka islands each were divided into forty-five segments, within which lineal (length of shore at mean higher high water) and areal (mean higher high water to the 10-fathom (18.3-m) depth contour) measures were made of the amount of habitat. (3) Rate of increase for the four northern populations was 17-20% year-1. Density- or size-dependent changes in rate of increase could not be demonstrated for any of these populations. The California population, in contrast, has undergone three apparent growth phases: the early 1900s to the mid-1970s when it increased about 5% year-1; the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s when it declined about 5% year-1; and the mid-1980s to 1988 when it increased about 7% year-1. An exponential growth model accounted for 92-98% of the variation in counts through time in all cases. (4) Population increase at Attu Island was achieved largely by range expansion as opposed to increased density. Range expansion in lineal and areal habitat occurred at 11% and 13% year-1, respectively; neither rate was lower (P > 0.25) than the observed rate of increase in numbers of animals counted. (5) Despite similarities in island size and physical environment, the most conservative estimates of population density at Amchitka Island were > 3 X greater than maximum density estimates for Attu Island. (6) Surveys of Amchitka Island from the mid-1930s through the mid-1980s indicate that the population increased to a peak in the 1940s; declined abruptly thereafter; and subsequently increased to a new and higher equilibrium in the 1960s, where it has since remained. (7) These population data, together with information on sea otter foraging and benthic community structure at Attu and Amchitka islands, suggest that multiple population equilibria exist in this system, emanating from complex trophic interactions low in the food web. I hypothesize that the lower population equilibrium is achieved largely or exclusively on an invertebrate diet consisting principally of herbivorous sea urchins. When unregulated by sea otter predation, the rocky benthos is deforested by sea urchin grazing. As growing otter populations compete increasingly for food, grazing intensity declines and the system shifts to one dominated by kelp beds, in turn leading to increased production, a shift in habitat structure, and population increases of kelp bed fishes. Apparently this new food resource elevates the sea otter population to a higher and more stable equilibrium.

Journal of Animal Ecology↗
USGS1995

Biodiversity: a new challenge

Resource managers at many state and federal agencies are in the middle of a fundamental change in the practice and objectives of conservation. Traditional management has been directed toward maintaining, usually for harvest purposes, populations of individual species such as ducks, deer, or salmon. Increasingly, however, resource managers are recognizing the critical important of conserving biological diversity, or biodiversity. In its simplest terms, biological diversity is the variety of life at all levels: it includes the array of plants and animals; the genetic differences among individuals; the communities, ecosystems, and landscapes in which they occur; and the variety of processes on which they depend. Conserving biological diversity poses dramatic new problems for comprehensive inventory and monitoring: what should be measured or monitored?

Book chapter↗
USGS1995

The value and vulnerability of small estuarine islands for conserving metapopulations of breeding waterbirds

Compelling arguments for preserving large habitat ‘islands’ have been made for a number of animal groups, but most commonly for terrestrial birds. We argue that, for many species of waterbirds nesting in coastal estuaries, maintaining numerous small islands may be a more effective management strategy than maintaining larger islands or reserves. In this study, the number of great white heron Ardea herodias nests over a 5-year period (1986–91) was negatively correlated with island area in the Florida Keys, USA. Nest densities were highest in the 2–10 ha island size range and lowest for islands larger than 100 ha. These small islands also attract nesting black skimmers Rynchops niger , brown pelicans Pelecanus occidentalis , and several species of terns and gulls. Small estuarine islands are vulnerable to sea level rise, erosion from watercraft, and, for dredge material islands, lack of sufficient maintenance because of competing needs for beach nourishment. Managers need to enforce more buffering and protection of these islands and argue for more dredged material allocations in some areas.

Florida↗
USGS2016

Habitat drives dispersal and survival of translocated juvenile desert tortoises

1.In spite of growing reliance on translocations in wildlife conservation, translocation efficacy remains inconsistent. One factor that can contribute to failed translocations is releasing animals into poor quality or otherwise inadequate habitat. 2.Here we used a targeted approach to test the relationship of habitat features to post-translocation dispersal and survival of juvenile Mojave desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii . 3.We selected three habitat characteristics—rodent burrows, substrate texture (prevalence and size of rocks), and washes (ephemeral river beds)–that are tied to desert tortoise ecology. At the point of release, we documented rodent burrow abundance, substrate texture, and wash presence and analysed their relationship to maximum dispersal. We also documented relative use by each individual for each habitat characteristic and analysed their relationships with survival and fatal encounters with a predator in the first year after release. 4.In general, the presence of refugia or other areas that enabled animals to avoid detection, such as burrows and substrate, decreased overall mortality as well as predator-mediated mortality. The presence of washes and substrate that enhanced the tortoises’ ability to avoid detection also associated with reduced dispersal away from the release site. These results indicate an important role for all three measured habitat characteristics in driving dispersal, survival, or fatal encounters with a predator in the first year after translocation. 5. Synthesis and applications . Resource managers using translocations as a conservation tool should prioritize acquiring data linking habitat to fitness. In particular, for species that depend on avoiding detection, refuges such as burrows and habitat that improved concealment had notable ability to improve survival and dispersal. Our study on juvenile Mojave desert tortoises showed that refuge availability or the distributions of habitat appropriate for concealment are important considerations for identifying translocation sites for species highly dependent on crypsis, camouflage, or other forms of habitat matching.

Journal of Applied Ecology↗
USGS2022

You can go your own way: No evidence for social behavior based on kinship or familiarity in captive juvenile box turtles

Behavioral interactions between conspecific animals can be influenced by relatedness and familiarity. Compared to other vertebrate taxa, considering such aspects of social behavior when housing captive reptiles has received less attention, despite the implications this could have for informing husbandry practices, enhancing welfare, and influencing outcomes of conservation translocations. In this study, to test how kinship and familiarity influenced social behavior in a reptile, we reared 16 captive-born Eastern Box Turtles ( Terrapene carolina ) under semi-natural conditions in four equally sized groups, where each group comprised pairs of siblings and non-siblings. Using separation distance between pairs of turtles in rearing enclosures as a measure of gregariousness, we found no evidence suggesting siblings more frequently interacted with one another compared to non-relatives over the first five months of life (β = -0.016, 95% CI: -0.117 to 0.084). Average pair separation distance decreased during this time (β = -0.146, 95% CI: -0.228 to -0.063) but may have been due to turtles aggregating around concentrated resources like heat and moist retreat areas as cold winter temperatures approached. When subject were eight months old, we measured repeated separation distances between unique pair combinations in an experimental environment and similarly found no support for gregariousness (associations) being influenced by kinship or familiarity (β = -1.554, 95% CI: -9.956 to 6.848). Additionally, differences in body size between pairs of turtles (β = -22.289, 95% CI: -68.448 to 23.870) nor the five-minute time interval during the 90-minute trial (P ≥ 0.18) had any apparent effect on associations. Agonistic interactions between individuals were never observed. Encouragingly, based on our results, group housing and rearing of juvenile box turtles did not appear to negatively impact their behavioral and physiological well-being. Unlike findings for other taxa, including some reptiles, our results suggest strategically housing groups of juvenile T. carolina to maintain social stability may not be an important husbandry consideration, or even a requirement, when planning releases of captive-reared individuals for conservation purposes.

Applied Animal Behaviour Science↗