Aspects of the demography of a relict population of southwestern pond turtles (Actinemys pallida) in a West Mojave Desert stream in California
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Abstract
We studied Actinemys pallida (Southwestern Pond Turtle) in Amargosa Creek, near Palmdale, CA, from 1997 to 2023. The population in the upper creek was the focus of a mark–recapture study from 1997 to 2003 during monitoring required by a road-construction project. An estimated 193 (95% CI = 142–256) turtles were present in 1997 or recruited to the upper creek population between 1997 and 2003. Total abundance and recruitment declined after 2001, coincident with the onset of a multi-decadal megadrought. Turtles in upper Amargosa Creek are presumed to be extirpated because the creek dried up in the ensuing years. As part of a separate research project, we resurveyed the lower creek at Piute Ponds on Edwards Air Force Base from 2019 to 2023. As of 2023, there was a remnant breeding population of at least 22 turtles there. We did not find any marked turtles from the upper creek in the ponds. Only 2 populations of Southwestern Pond Turtles are known to survive in the Mojave Desert, one at Piute Ponds and another in the Mojave River.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Aspects of the demography of a relict population of southwestern pond turtles (Actinemys pallida) in a West Mojave Desert stream in California |
| Series title | Northeastern Naturalist |
| DOI | 10.1656/045.031.s1229 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Issue | SP12 |
| Year Published | 2024 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Eagle Hill Institute |
| Contributing office(s) | Southwest Biological Science Center |
| Description | 20 p. |
| First page | E109 |
| Last page | E130 |
| Country | United States |
| State | California |
| Other Geospatial | Amargosa Creek |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |