BULLETIN FLORIDA MUSEUM NATURAL HISTORY VOL. 38 PT. 1(4)


Table 1. Summary of radio-telemetry data and home range estimates for 14 adult female radio-tagged
gopher tortoises on the Ordway Preserve, Putnam County, Florida. Home range was calculated using the
minimum convex polygon method (Mohr, 1947).


 Initial Initial Number Number Home
Tortoise CL Mass Period Duration of of (ha)
ID No. (mm) (g) Habitat Observed (Days) Records Sites Range


2916 284.0 4050 Old Field 5/17/90-7/10/91 419 519 7 0.024
3816 279.0 3810 Sandhill 4/23/90-9/10/91 505 407 9 1.435
3817 285.0 3500 Sandhill 5/5/90-5/16/91 376 227 4 0.316
3818 256.0 3350 Old Field 5/17/90-7/19/91 428 498 3 0.004
3820 279.0 3780 Old Field 5/11/90-5/23/91 377 407 7 0.076
3821 236.0 2425 Sandhill 5/17/90-6/11/91 390 218 5 0.192
3822 262.0 3850 Sandhill 5/17/90-7/31/91 440 426 11 0.652
3825 272.0 3550 Old Field 5/23/90-8/2/91 467 459 7 0.479
3827 256.0 3180 Sandhill 5/24/90-8/2/91 466 384 5 0.262
3828 249.0 2710 Sandhill 5/30/90-4/28/91 334 286 2
3830 235.0 2430 Old Field 5/30/90-4/18/91 324 330 3 0.044
3836 257.0 2920 Sandhill 6/8/90-6/13/91 371 400 7 1.414
3838 251.0 2870 Sandhill 6/3/90-4/21/91 323 287 5 0.116
4500 254.0 3650 Old Field 5/17/90-4/9/91 327 345 4 0.002

' Linear home range, 2 burrows 39.2 m apart



burned site. Burrows were measured and categorized by size and activity status
Alford 1980; Martin and Layne 1987). Burrows < 140 mm wide were categorized
as juvenile; those from 140-230 mm wide as subadult; and those > 230 mm wide as
adult. To estimate occupancy, burrows that had obvious tracks or slide marks were
considered active. Inactive burrows had a clear entrance but no sign of recent
activity. Burrows that were full of debris or had caved in were considered old
(Alford 1980; Auffenberg and Franz 1982).
 To assess impacts of past human predation on tortoises at the Ordway
Preserve, I conducted comparative surveys of populations at the periphery and near
the center of the Preserve in 1990. Sample sites < 0.75 km inside the Preserve
boundary were classified as perimeter and sites > 0.75 km inside the property line
were considered core (Fig. 1). Density estimates were obtained by counting
burrows in belt transects measuring 1000 x 25 m (Auffenberg and Franz 1982; Cox
et al. 1987). Transects of equal size were sampled in old field and sandhill habitats
so that comparisons could be made between the two habitats.
 Clutch size was determined by X-raying gravid females (Gibbons and Greene
1979) or by locating nests at burrow aprons. From May 1 to May 15 (1989-1991),
tortoises were manually captured or trapped at burrows. Burrow aprons were