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Activity and movement of free-living box turtles are largely independent of ambient and thermal conditions

Overview of attention for article published in Movement Ecology, July 2018
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Title
Activity and movement of free-living box turtles are largely independent of ambient and thermal conditions
Published in
Movement Ecology, July 2018
DOI 10.1186/s40462-018-0130-8
Pubmed ID
Authors

Adam F. Parlin, Jessica A. Nardone, John Kelly Dougherty, Mimi Rebein, Kamran Safi, Paul J. Schaeffer

Abstract

Ectotherms are assumed to be strongly influenced by the surrounding ambient and environmental conditions for daily activity and movement. As such, ecological and physiological factors contribute to stimuli influencing navigation, extent of movement, and therefore habitat use. Our study focused on the intensity of activity (from acceleration data) and extent of movement (from GPS and thread trailing data) of Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) in a fragmented landscape near their northern population limit. First, we quantified the thermal performance curve of box turtles using activity as a measure of performance. Second, we investigated ecological factors that could influence activity and movement and characterized the movement as extensive (exploration) and intensive (foraging). In contrast to previous lab work investigating effects of temperature on activity, we found no relationship between box turtle activity and temperature in the field. Furthermore, box turtle activity was consistent over a wide range of temperatures. Cluster analysis categorized movement recorded with GPS more as intensive than as extensive, while thread trailing had more movement categorized as extensive than intensive. Box turtle activity was higher during the morning hours and began to decrease as the day progressed. Based on the microclimate conditions tested, we found that box turtle movement was influenced by precipitation and time of day, and activity was most influenced by absolute humidity, ambient temperature, cloud cover, and time of day. Our model ectotherm in this study, the Eastern box turtle, had activity patterns characteristic of a thermal generalist. Sampling resolution altered the characterization of movement as intensive or extensive movement, possibly altering interpretation. More information on the resolution needed to definitively identify foraging and exploratory behavior in turtles is needed. Activity and movement were nearly independent of environmental conditions, which supports the overall interpretation that turtle performance is that of a broad environmental generalist. Future studies of movement of other turtle and reptile species are needed to determine the generality of these findings.

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The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 2 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 60 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 60 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Master 14 23%
Student > Ph. D. Student 10 17%
Student > Bachelor 8 13%
Student > Doctoral Student 3 5%
Professor 3 5%
Other 8 13%
Unknown 14 23%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 22 37%
Environmental Science 14 23%
Veterinary Science and Veterinary Medicine 4 7%
Medicine and Dentistry 2 3%
Physics and Astronomy 1 2%
Other 1 2%
Unknown 16 27%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 08 August 2018.
All research outputs
#14,421,028
of 23,096,849 outputs
Outputs from Movement Ecology
#248
of 319 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#185,701
of 329,152 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Movement Ecology
#7
of 8 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,096,849 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 35th percentile – i.e., 35% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 319 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 22.1. This one is in the 18th percentile – i.e., 18% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 329,152 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 40th percentile – i.e., 40% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 8 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one.