Field Work!

We have been very busy the past couple of weeks starting field work, as Kathleen has been perfecting her gopher tortoise capture technique! Over the past 2-3 weeks, we have sampled 15 gopher tortoises from the FAU-Harbor Branch campus. We have also been extracting DNA and running PCR on the many samples previously gathered from the gopher tortoises in Loggerhead Park.

 

From left to right: Dr. Page-Karjian, Kathleen, and Clerson. This was our first gopher tortoise that we sampled!

We have encountered some very interesting tortoises while doing field work. One tortoise was missing her right eye! Her jaw was also slightly misaligned on the same side. We think that this is evidence of a previous predator attack. Even though she only has one eye, she is completely healed and in good body condition, and she still gets around just fine! She is lovingly referred to as "Popeye".

 

Gopher tortoise found at Harbor Branch missing her right eye. Note the misaligned jaw on the same side. The left eye and left jawline were completely normal!

Another tortoise we found was missing her right hindlimb. This was also likely due to a predator attack in the past! Possible predators include a bobcat or a raccoon. Just like Popeye, this tortoise is still able to do great in the wild even with her missing limb. We named this tortoise "Pogo"!

 

Pogo's missing right hindlimb. The area is completely healed, and the tortoise is able to live a normal life on 3 legs!

 

We have found bobcat tracts found right outside of several gopher tortoise burrows on the Harbor Branch campus. The bobcat is the most abundant wildcat in the U.S.!

Another tortoise we want to share was just encountered the other day. It was a hatchling that only weighed 120 grams! Even though the tortoise was very small and its shell was pretty soft to the touch, we estimated that he/she was about 1 year old. Young gopher tortoises are a bright yellow color. Seeing young animals such as this one demonstrates that this population is reproductively active.

 

Young tortoise weighing only 120 grams. The mouth is stained green from snacking on some grass! Note the bright yellow color of this young one's shell.

We are having so much fun working with the gopher tortoises on the Harbor Branch campus and learning more about their demographic structure and health. With your support, we will be able to run more tests on the samples that we have collected to help ensure the health and future of this population. Thank you so much to everyone that has supported us thus far!

 

Left: Kathleen holding gopher tortoise 005, also known as "Popeye" Right: another gopher tortoise with part of her lunch hanging from her mouth!