SMITH: GOPHERUSPOLYPHEMUS ON THE ORDWAY PRESERVE


Table 5. Number of burrow aprons containing nests on the Ordway Preserve, Putnam County, Florida. The
first number is the number of nests and the second is the number of burrow aprons searched.

 Number of Nests/Burrow


 Habitat 1989 1990 1991 1989-1991

 SLOH" 0/0 1/17 1/13 2/30
 OFb 0/32 1/123 2/149 3/304
 SH/HP' 2/220 14/738 13/716 29/1674

 All Habitats 2/252 16/878 16/878 34/2008

SSand live oak hammock.
b Old field.
SSandhill/high pine.



 Differences in the nest-to-burrow ratios among the three habitats may be an
artifact of sampling. The highest ratio of nests per burrow (6.7%) occurred in sand
live oak hammock habitat although only 30 aprons in this habitat were probed
(Table 5). The nest-to-burrow ratio was second highest in the sandhill habitat
(1.7%) and was nearly equal in 1990 and 1991. The fewest number of nests per
burrow (1%) occurred in old field habitat. Vegetative cover in uplands on the
Ordway Preserve is variable, depending on frequency of prescribed burns, but open
sandy patches are available for nesting.
 Most nests found in burrow aprons (78%) were located at active burrows,
whereas 19% were located at inactive and 3% were located at old burrows. Active
burrows may be preferred as nest sites over inactive and old burrows, because the
aprons typically are kept free of vegetation and debris by the resident tortoise. The
soil on the aprons of active burrows may be less compacted than at unoccupied
burrows, and better suited for constructing nest cavities.
 Mean nest depth and distance from the burrow entrance did not differ
significantly between years (Table 6). Mean depth of nests (13.8 cm) was
comparable to that reported by Diemer and Moore (1994) at another north-central
Florida site (mean = 13.0 cm, n = 5). Average nest depth at two south Alabama
sites were 14.1 cm (n = 7) and 16.0 cm (n = 4) (Marshall 1987).
 Average distance from the burrow entrance to the nest was 18.3 cm. None of
the nests were deposited more than 1 m from the burrow opening and one clutch
was found 5 cm inside the entrance. Average distance from the opening was
comparable to that reported for 93 nests in southwest Georgia (mean = 18.0 cm)
(Landers et al. 1980).