Date of Award
1994
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Zoology
Department
Zoology
First Advisor
C. Robert Shoop
Abstract
I studied the only known nesting population of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in Rhode Island at Nockum Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Barrington, Bristol County and characterized aspects of the nesting behavior and ecology of this population, described nest site habitat characteristics and factors affecting nest success, and compared my findings to other described Malaclemys populations. A total of 241 nests was found at Nockum Hill in 1993. Terrapins tended to nest in the morning and near the time of high tide. Mammalian predators, primarily raccoons, destroyed 75 of 86 monitored nests. Fifty-five percent of the surviving clutches were oviposited in the first week of the nesting season. Terrapins preferred to nest in areas containing < 5% vegetative cover, but nest success was not related to percent vegetation, percent shrubs, and/or percent slope at and surrounding the nest site. Many individuals nesting a second time exhibited site fidelity to nesting areas within Nockum Hill. Nesting females in Rhode Island were larger in body size, and laid fewer but larger clutches over a shorter nesting season than terrapins in more southern U.S. locations. Terrapins living in northern latitudes are apparently constrained by a short nesting season, and therefore individuals must lay all eggs of a season in only one or two clutches.
Recommended Citation
Goodwin, Caitlin C., "ASPECTS OF NESTING ECOLOGY OF THE DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN (MALACLEMYS TERRAPIN) IN RHODE ISLAND" (1994). Open Access Master's Theses. Paper 2577.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/theses/2577
