Experimental Plant Curtain’s Effect on Turtle Basking
Item
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Title
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Experimental Plant Curtain’s Effect on Turtle Basking
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Creator
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Emil Ricci
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Exit Requirement
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Honors Thesis
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Date of Award
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Jun-23
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15 June 2023
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Honors Program Director
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Gavin Keulks
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Faculty Advisor
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Gareth Hopkins
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Abstract
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Freshwater turtles have faced a variety of challenges including the loss of habitat and the loss of basking structures throughout urban landscapes. These urban areas can be restored with the addition of basking habitat and are highly valuable in urban areas with high visitor usage. This creates a potential conflict between effectively restoring basking habitat and possible disturbance of the animals. We examined this conflict and experimentally tested a potential resolution at the semi-urbanized Minto Brown Island Park, in Salem, Oregon. Examination of basking behavior of turtles (Red-eared Sliders, Northwestern Pond Turtles, and Western Painted Turtles) in response to human recreation in this park suggest that turtles may avoid sites with large numbers of people, raising the question whether basking structures currently being deployed could be improved to shield turtles from people. We determine the effect of a curtain of plants on the basking rates of turtles. Basking is a behavior that turtles exhibit where they exit the water and rest in the sun absorbing its thermal energy. It is integral to maintaining turtles’ thermoregulation. Other studies determined there was a correlation in the basking time of turtles with the presence of a wall of visibility between the turtles and predators. This was only ever seen in an observational system of study. In this study we experimentally modified basking structures at three different sites varying in number of recreationists. At each site we deployed two basking structures: a control structure based on the current structure design with an added floating ring of PVC, and an experimentally modified platform with plants (Carex and Juncus plugs) planted in the PVC ring, creating a blind. Use of the structures was quantified utilizing a camera monitoring system where images were taken every 15 minutes from 7 am to 7 pm between April 22nd and October 16th. We also remotely recorded light and temperature levels on the platform. The temperatures and light levels were not significantly different between the platform types. The planted platform was shown to have higher turtle presence across all sights compared to the bare platform. At one of the sites there was a high number of juvenile turtle sightings, with a significant association of juvenile turtles with the modified platforms. Overall the modified platforms had a significant association with turtle presence, suggesting that these platforms could be a valuable tool in ongoing efforts to restore habitats for threatened turtle species
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Type
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Text
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Language
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eng
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Rights
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Western Oregon University Library has determined, as of 06/01/2023, this item is in copyright, which is held by the author. Users may use the item in accordance with copyright limitations and exceptions, including fair use. For other uses, please ask permission from the author.
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http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
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Description
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This paper was also presented as a coference talk, which can be viewed at https://youtu.be/CZC1cFiB1_E
