Journal article
Between the Bay and a Hard Place: Altered Diamondback Terrapin Nesting Movements Demonstrate the Effects of Coastal Barriers Upon Estuarine Wildlife
The Journal of wildlife management, v 79(4), pp 682-688
01 May 2015
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Human development can impede wildlife moving between complementary habitats, particularly in highly disturbed coastal ecosystems. Coastal barriers may affect the behavior of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin), a salt-tolerant estuarine turtle that requires access to complementary upland habitat for annual nesting. We used telemetry to quantify terrestrial and aquatic movements of 78 nesting female terrapins in response to coastal barriers at 2 sites in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, a heavily developed estuary. Nesting female terrapins traveled significantly greater distances with more tortuous paths or spent significantly more time in the water when their movements were obstructed than females nesting at beaches with no obstructions. We hypothesize that the additional effort and displacement associated with reproduction where obstructions exist will reduce terrapin fitness and potentially contribute to population declines. Our study demonstrates a unique approach to quantifying effects of barriers on organisms requiring complementary habitats, and improves our understanding of the impacts of shoreline hardening on estuarine wildlife threatened by encroaching coastal development. (c) 2015 The Wildlife Society.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- Between the Bay and a Hard Place: Altered Diamondback Terrapin Nesting Movements Demonstrate the Effects of Coastal Barriers Upon Estuarine Wildlife
- Creators
- Julianne M. Winters - Drexel UniversityHarold W. Avery - College of New JerseyEdward A. Standora - Buffalo State CollegeJames R. Spotila - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- The Journal of wildlife management, v 79(4), pp 682-688
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Number of pages
- 7
- Grant note
- Earthwatch Institute Sonotronics, Inc. Betz Chair of Environmental Science at Drexel University Diamondback Terrapin Working Group Home Depot of Forked River, New Jersey
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- [Retired Faculty]
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000353217100016
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84927969011
- Other Identifier
- 991019168772704721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Ecology
- Zoology