Ornate box turtles ( Terrapene ornata ) are on the Iowa list of threatened species. An established population of T. ornata have been identified in Johnson County and we have been studying this population to gather data concerning the low numbers of new adult turtles. Last spring, radiotransmitters were attached to 20 adult females and used to locate these turtles every night from late May to the third week in June to determine if, when, and where they nested. Following detection of a nest, the site was monitored to determine the fate of the eggs in the nest. Of the nests included in this study, all were scavenged and predated within 24 hours of being dug by the transmittered female, and none of the eggs were found to survive. Results suggest an unusually high predation rate of T. ornata eggs in this area, and possible species viability concerns due to low numbers of adults within the ideal reproductive age. Furthermore, turtles were observed digging nest-like structures on several nights preceding occurrences of viable nests being laid. In these cases the nests were either not completed or had structural variations from actual nests. In every case, these “pseudo-nests” did not contain eggs, suggesting that multiple nesting sites may be dug prior to laying eggs.
Jamie Wallace, ’05 Mt. Vernon , IA
Major: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carrie Barker
Student, Mt. Mercy College
Justin Gohdes, ’06 Lone Jack , MO
Majors: Psychology and Sociology
Monica Goncze, ’05 Sandown , NH
Majors: English and Biology
Nicole Hennings, ’05 Clutier , IA
Major: Biology
Joseph Pisarik, ’04 Martelle , IA
Majors: Secondary Education and Biology
Robert Black
Professor of Biology, Cornell College
S. Andrew McCollum
Assistant Professor of Biology, Cornell College
Neil Bernstein
Professor of Biology, Mt. Mercy College
Sponsor: Robert Black