Habitat Preferences of Fresh-Water Turtles in the Murray Valley, Victoria and New-South-Wales

Abstract

Preferences of Chelodina expansa, Chelodina longicollis and Emydura macquarii (Testudines : Chelidae) for different types of aquatic habitat on the Murray River flood plain in south-eastern Australia were inferred from catch statistics. E. macquarii was the species most often caught in the river itself and river backwaters, whereas C. longicollis formed the majority of captures from oxbow lakes, anabranches, ponds, rain pools and a swamp. Relative abundance of E. macquarii was significantly positively correlated with water body depth, transparency, persistence during dry conditions and flow speed, and negatively correlated with remoteness from the river. C. longicollis demonstrated the opposite pattern, and the proportional catch of C. expansa was weakly correlated with environmental variables. The capacity of C. longicollis for colonising and surviving in small, remote and ephemeral ponds and pools relates to its ability to aestivate and resist desiccation and its propensity for overland migration.