Habitat Selection and Home Range of Reeves’ Turtle (Mauremys reevesii) in Qichun County, Hubei Province, China

Abstract

Habitat selection and range are crucial factors in understanding the life history of species. We tracked 23 adult wild Reeves’ turtles (Mauremys reevesii) from August 2021 to August 2022 in Qichun County, Hubei Province, China, to study their habitat selection, home range, and the characteristics of chosen habitats. Significant differences were observed in aquatic habitats, regarding shelter cover (Z = −6.032, p < 0.001), shelter height (Z = −6.783, p < 0.001), depth of water (Z = −2.009, p = 0.045), and distance from the edge (Z = −4.288, p < 0.001), between selected and random habitats. In terrestrial habitats, significant differences were observed in canopy cover (Z = −2.100, p = 0.036), herbage cover (Z = −2.347, p = 0.019), distance from the field edge (Z = −2.724, p = 0.006), dead grass cover (Z = −2.921, p = 0.003), and dead grass thickness (t = 3.735, df = 17, p = 0.002) between the selected and random habitats. The mean home range area observed for this turtle population was 14.34 ± 4.29 ha, the mean core home range was 2.91 ± 2.28 ha, and the mean line home range was 670.23 ± 119.62 m. This study provides valuable information on this endangered species, providing a foundation for the development of conservation plans.