Abstract
Annual induced fires have caused significant changes in the composition and structure of wildlife globally. These events are particularly critical for species with limited mobility and small clutch sizes, such as small and medium-sized freshwater turtles in the tropics. At the same time, this topic has received little attention and has not been documented in countries with a high diversity of freshwater turtles, such as Mexico. In this study, we report the mortality of the red-cheeked mud turtle (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum) and the Pacific Coast musk turtle (Staurotypus salvinii) caused by a fire in the north portion of the municipality of Suchiate, Chiapas, Mexico. Specifically, our aims were to (1) register the plant species where the turtles occurred, (2) determine the population structure of each turtle species, and (3) estimate the density, size, and sex ratio of the dead turtles of each species. Additionally, we discuss the potential effects of fire on the demography of these turtles in the study site.
Resumen
Los incendios anuales inducidos han causado cambios significativos en la composición y estructura de la vida silvestre a nivel global. Estos eventos son particularmente críticos para especies con movilidad limitada y tamaños reducidos de crías, como ciertas tortugas de agua dulce pequeñas y medianas en los trópicos. Al mismo tiempo, este tema ha recibido una atención limitada y no ha sido documentado en países con una alta diversidad de tortugas de agua dulce, como México. En este estudio, reportamos sobre la mortalidad de la tortuga casquito rojo (Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum) y la tortuga cruzayuche (Staurotypus salvinii) causada por un incendio en la parte norte del municipio de Suchiate, Chiapas, México. Específicamente, nuestros objetivos fueron (1) registrar las especies de plantas donde las tortugas se encontraban, (2) determinar la estructura poblacional de cada especie de tortuga y (3) estimar la densidad, tamaño y proporción de sexos de cada especie. Adicionalmente, discutimos los posibles efectos del fuego en la demografía de estas tortugas en el sitio de estudio.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
Turtles were proceeding under the Federal Government permit number: SGPA/DGVS/06570/21 issued by SEMARNAT. Mexican laws and Mexican Universities do not ask for IACUC approval to conduct research within the country, however all animals were handled and processed under ethical treatment in accordance with husbandry standards. Additionally, we thanks to local people involved in the fieldwork, specially to Manuel Escobar Ralón. John B. Iverson made important revision and comments to improve the document.
Funding
This work was supported by Chelonian Research Foundation, Turtle Conservation Fund [for both TCF-0790] and Turtle Survival Alliance.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Eduardo Reyes Grajales, Andrew D. Walde, Jonathan Rogelio Chávez-Sánchez, Juan Pablo Baldovinos de la Rosa, Fernando Necochea Montes and Víctor Hugo Reynoso. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Eduardo Reyes Grajales, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Reyes-Grajales, E., Walde, A.D., Chávez-Sánchez, J.R. et al. Potential Implications of an Induced Fire on the Demography of Freshwater Turtles. Wetlands 44, 13 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01772-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-024-01772-0
Keywords
- Kinosternidae
- Staurotypus salvinii
- Kinosternon scorpioides cruentatum
- Population ecology
- Population structure
- Sex ratio