The
Blanding's Turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) of Weaver Dunes, Minnesota
MICHAEL
J. PAPPAS1, BRUCE J. BRECKE2, AND JUSTIN D. CONGDON3,4
1Michael's,
15 South Broadway, Rochester, Minnesota 55904 USA E-mail: michael@michaelsfinedining.com]; 2104-A
Count y Road 81, Wabasha, Minnesota 55981 USA; 3Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina
29802 USA
[Fax:
803-725-3309; E-mail: (congdon@srel.edul); 4Corresponding
Author for Reprint Requests
ABSTRACT.- The population of Blanding's turtles
(Emydoidea blandingii) at Weaver Dunes, Wabasha
County, Minnesota, may be the largest in the world.The Weaver Dunes complex is composed of
Weaver Bottoms which is a 1620 ha shallow lake, the old Zumbro River Channel
(1500 ha consisting
of approximately 750 ha of wetland habitats), and Weaver Dunes (600 ha of
stabilized dunes).
Between 15 April 1974 and I June 1980 we marked a total of 2402
individuals and made 474
recaptures.An additional 49 females were marked in June 1998 and 25 recaptures were
made of
previously marked individuals. Clutch sizes were determined for 44 females
during 1976 and 1977 and 70 females during 1998.Adult females averaged 197.0 mm carapace length (CL) and 1.08 kg in
body mass; adult males averaged 213.6 mm CL and 1.29 kg in body mass.Compared to males of
similar length, plastrons of females were wider and total shell width was
narrower and higher.Of
598 reproductive females, fewer than 20% were captured on land during the
nesting season in
successive years, and some females appeared not to reproduce each year.Clutch size averaged 9.8
eggs and was positively related to body size of females.Eggs averaged 23.5 by 37.5 mm in width and
length, respectively, and hatchlings captured in the field averaged 33.1,36.7,
and 15.4 mm in plastron
and carapace length and shell height, respectively.Females matured at a minimum CL of 160 mm and minimum age of 14 yrs.Juveniles averaged 10 mm/yr increase in CL. The oldest adults in the
population were a minimum age of 40 to 45 yrs.Adult growth averaged 0.46 mm/yr, with some adults
exhibiting zero or negative growth.Juveniles
comprised 35.1-55.7 % of samples of turtles.Adult sex
ratio was 1 male to 2.2 females.Emergence
of adults from overwintering occurred between 13 March 8 April.Nesting began between 26 May - 12 June, and nesting season duration
averaged 17 days.
Hatchling
emergence averaged 27 days between mid-August and late September.Since 1.6% of
hatchlings were captured on land in the spring
following nest construction, some hatchlings
apparently overwintered on land.First order estimates place the population size of Blanding's
turtles at between 2500-4600 individuals on the west
side of Weaver Dunes alone (the old Zumbro River Marsh area).
KEY WORDS. - Reptilia; Testudines; Emydidae; Emydoidea
blandingii; turtle; ecology; growth; juveniles; morphology; population;
demography; reproduction; sexual dimorphism; Minnesota; USA
SREL
Reprint #2513
Pappas,
M. J., B. J. Brecke, and J. D. Congdon. 2000. The Blanding's turtles (Emydoidea
blandingii) of Weaver Dunes, Minnesota. Chelonian Conservation and Biology
3:557-568.
