The Detectability of Eastern Box Turtles: Implications for Reptile Disease Detection and Surveillance. Golden, T. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 2020. abstract bibtex The ability to estimate population abundance or survey populations for disease is heavily dependent on estimating the detection of available animals during intentional surveillance efforts or through opportunistic encounters. For reptiles and amphibians, the likelihood of detecting individuals is low due to their small sizes, cryptic behavior, and ability to camouflage naturally. We examined the detectability of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) using distance to line sampling of 3-dimensional printed models along a 1 km forest transect. Each model was situated along the transect using a stratified random design of distance from the transect and whether the model was “fully exposed”, “partially covered”, or “fully covered”. We included surveyor self-reported level of experience sampling for wildlife, reptiles, and Box Turtles as additional covariates, as well as total observer pace (time to complete the transect). Detection of Box Turtles was highest directly on the transect but was not perfect and declined dramatically more than 1 meter from the transect. Whether the model was partially or fully covered by leaf litter also significantly reduced detection. Detection was not different among individuals who self-reported as “professional”, “pro-in-training”, “amateur”, or “novice” but did increase with and increasingly slower pace. Our results demonstrate that detection of Box Turtles during deliberate surveys is generally poor and not related to observer experience, suggesting that effective detection of animals for population studies or disease surveillance will be challenging.
@phdthesis{golden_detectability_2020,
address = {Athens, Georgia},
type = {Senior {Thesis}},
title = {The {Detectability} of {Eastern} {Box} {Turtles}: {Implications} for {Reptile} {Disease} {Detection} and {Surveillance}},
abstract = {The ability to estimate population abundance or survey populations for disease is heavily dependent on estimating the detection of available animals during intentional surveillance efforts or through opportunistic encounters. For reptiles and amphibians, the likelihood of detecting individuals is low due to their small sizes, cryptic behavior, and ability to camouflage naturally. We examined the detectability of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) using distance to line sampling of 3-dimensional printed models along a 1 km forest transect. Each model was situated along the transect using a stratified random design of distance from the transect and whether the model was “fully exposed”, “partially covered”, or “fully covered”. We included surveyor self-reported level of experience sampling for wildlife, reptiles, and Box Turtles as additional covariates, as well as total observer pace (time to complete the transect). Detection of Box Turtles was highest directly on the transect but was not perfect and declined dramatically more than 1 meter from the transect. Whether the model was partially or fully covered by leaf litter also significantly reduced detection. Detection was not different among individuals who self-reported as “professional”, “pro-in-training”, “amateur”, or “novice” but did increase with and increasingly slower pace. Our results demonstrate that detection of Box Turtles during deliberate surveys is generally poor and not related to observer experience, suggesting that effective detection of animals for population studies or disease surveillance will be challenging.},
language = {en},
school = {University of Georgia},
author = {Golden, Taylor},
year = {2020},
}
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