Munscher Eric C, Siders Zachary A, Weber Andrew S, Munscher Jessica, Morrison Madeleine, Osborne Wayne, Letcher Shannon, Butterfield Brian P, Skibsted Michael, Walde Andrew D
Turtle Survival Alliance, 5900 Core Road, Suite 504, North Charleston, SC 29406, USA.
Department of Natural Resources, SWCA Environmental Consultants, 10245 West Little York Road, Suite 600, Houston, TX 77040, USA.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Aug 7;14(8):1018. doi: 10.3390/biology14081018.
The Florida softshell turtle, , is considered common and found in many different types of freshwater habitats throughout its range. However, despite its prevalence where it occurs, little is understood about the species' life history and population dynamics due to difficulties with capture and long-term marking. Building on a foundational study of the Florida softshell turtle at Wekiwa Springs State Park (WSSP) from 2007 to 2012, we present findings from an extended 16-year mark-recapture study spanning from 2007 to 2023. A total of 31 sampling events were conducted with a median of two capture events per year. Sampling events were spread over a median of 5 days each year (range, 2-11 days), with a total of 88 capture days. One hundred and twenty individual were captured over 225 encounters. We estimated an average population size of 135.6 individuals using an annual Schumacher-Eschmeyer ratio estimator. Using a state-space Jolly-Seber model, we estimated that 204 individuals entered the population over the 16 years (the superpopulation), while the average current population size was 40 individuals. The median survival probability was 0.884 but the median detection probability was 0.10, reinforcing the perceived difficulty with capturing . The continued influx of new juveniles, recapture of these individuals as adults, and strong female bias support the possibility that the WSSP and Rock Springs greater ecosystem functions as a potential nursery habitat for the Florida softshell. Though population estimates dropped 20% following a two-year sampling gap owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the population is currently growing slowly and highlights the value of continued, long-term monitoring of elusive freshwater turtle species.
佛罗里达鳖（Apalone ferox）在其分布范围内的许多不同类型淡水栖息地中都被认为数量常见。然而，尽管它在其出现的地方很普遍，但由于捕获和长期标记存在困难，人们对该物种的生活史和种群动态了解甚少。基于2007年至2012年在韦基瓦泉州立公园（WSSP）对佛罗里达鳖进行的基础研究，我们展示了一项从2007年至2023年为期16年的扩展标记重捕研究的结果。总共进行了31次采样活动，每年的捕获活动中位数为两次。采样活动每年平均分布在5天（范围为2 - 11天），总共有88个捕获日。在225次相遇中捕获了120只个体。我们使用年度舒马赫 - 埃施迈尔比率估计器估计平均种群数量为135.6只个体。使用状态空间乔利 - 西伯模型，我们估计在这16年中有204只个体进入种群（超级种群），而当前平均种群数量为40只个体。中位生存概率为0.884，但中位检测概率为0.10，这进一步证明了捕获佛罗里达鳖存在的困难。新幼体的持续涌入、这些个体成年后的重捕以及强烈的雌性偏向支持了WSSP和岩泉更大的生态系统作为佛罗里达鳖潜在育幼栖息地的可能性。尽管由于新冠疫情导致两年的采样间隔后种群估计下降了20%，但目前种群正在缓慢增长，这凸显了对难以捉摸的淡水龟物种进行持续长期监测的价值。
