Home Range and Habitat Use of The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) in the Northern Georgia Piedmont

The Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) is a terrestrial species found throughout the Eastern United States. The species is considered vulnerable according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, yet data regarding habitat use, home range, and impacts of invasive plant species is limited, especially in the northern Piedmont region of Georgia. For this research, Box Turtles were hand captured at Tumbling Creek Nature Preserve on the Gainesville campus of The University of North Georgia in Oakwood, GA and located on foot using radiotelemetry 1-2 times per week from spring 2013 to fall 2015. At radiolocations, we collected GPS location and microhabitat data, including vegetation cover, environmental temperatures, and forest stand basal area. We used 100% minimum complex polygons (MCP) and kernel density to estimate individual home range area. To date, we have collected 5-134 radiolocations per individual turtle, with MCP home ranges variying from 0.16-6.10 ha. Overall patterns of habitat use indicate use of upland habitats dominated by native vegetation (37% of radiolocations), uplands dominated by Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense; 50%), cleared land (9%), and wetland habitats (4%). Assessment of home ranges and habitat use will continue through 2015-2016 as we maintain tracking efforts