Journal article
Assessing age in the desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii: testing skeletochronology with individuals of known age
Endangered species research, v 5(1), pp 21-27
01 Jan 2008
Abstract
Eight desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii from a long-term mark- recapture study in the Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA, afforded an opportunity to examine the accuracy of skeletochronological age estimation on tortoises from a seasonal, yet environmentally erratic environment. These 8 tortoises were marked as hatchlings or within the first 2 yr of life, and their carcasses were salvaged from predator kills. Using a blind protocol, 2 skeletochronological protocols (correction-factor and ranking) provided age estimates for a set of 4 bony elements (humerus, scapula, femur, ilium) from these tortoises of known age. The age at death of the tortoises ranged from 15 to 50 yr. The most accurate protocol - ranking using the growth layers within each of the 4 elements - provided estimates from 21 to 47 yr, with the highest accuracy from the ilia. The results indicate that skeletochronological age estimation provides a reasonably accurate method for assessing the age at death of desert tortoises and, if used with a large sample of individuals, will provide a valuable tool for examining age-related mortality parameters in desert tortoise and likely in other gopher tortoises (Gopherus).
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18 citations in Scopus
Details
- Title
- Assessing age in the desert tortoise Gopherus agassizii: testing skeletochronology with individuals of known age
- Creators
- Amanda CurtinGeorge Zug - Smithsonian InstitutionPhilip MedicaJames Spotila
- Publication Details
- Endangered species research, v 5(1), pp 21-27
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Biodiversity, Earth, and Environmental Science (BEES); [Retired Faculty]
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-55349134185
- Other Identifier
- 991019173628604721