Population Size and Sex Ratio of Snapping Turtles on the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Authors

  • John B. Iverson Department of Biology, Earlham College
  • Geoffrey R. Smith Department of Biology, Denison University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v17i4.16122

Abstract

Mark and recapture studies of Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) on the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge in the Sandhills of western Nebraska revealed a sex ratio strongly biased toward males by a factor of two, an average density of 2.32 adults and subadults per hectare, and a standing crop biomass of 19.35 kg/ha. Sex ratios were most biased (7.5:1.0) in July–August. Density and biomass were comparable to values from previously studied lakes, and were inversely related to wetland size across all studies of snapping turtles.

Lizard on a rock

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Published

2010-12-01

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 4 (2010): Reptiles & Amphibians

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright is held by the authors. Articles in R&A are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International license.

How to Cite

Iverson, J. B., & Smith, G. R. (2010). Population Size and Sex Ratio of Snapping Turtles on the Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Reptiles & Amphibians, 17(4), 195-200. https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v17i4.16122