Home Range and Movement Patterns in a Maine Population of Wood Turtles (Glyptemys insculpta)

Matthew W.H. Chatfield^1,*, Gregory LeClair¹, Kathleen Dunckel², and Cheryl A. Frederick²

¹School of Biology and Ecology, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. ²Center for Wildlife Studies, Camden, ME 04843. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Special Issue 12 (2024): G63–G78

First published early online: 9 June 2024

Abstract
We present home-range and movement-pattern analyses for a population of Glyptemys insculpta (Wood Turtle) in central Maine. We radio-tracked 27 adult turtles for 1–6 years each to characterize migration patterns, stream use, home-range sizes, and flood-displacement events. There was no significant difference between stream-emergence dates for males and females in the spring; however, males did return to the stream significantly earlier in the fall than females (male mean = 29 August, female mean = 18 September). There were also significant differences among years in emergence dates (2020 mean = 15 May, 2021 mean = 3 May, 2022 mean = 17 May), but not in return dates. On average, the maximum distance traveled from the stream during the summer months was significantly greater for females (mean = 284 m) than males (mean = 186 m). We assessed core and home-range sizes using 2 different methods but found no significant differences between males and females. Maximum occupied stream-length distances differed significantly between males (mean = 2964 m) and females (mean = 1174 m). Lastly, our analysis of flood events showed that Wood Turtles were often displaced downstream following rain events of 2 cm or greater and that larger rain events caused a greater proportion of the population to become displaced. Our Maine-based study helps to fill an important geographic gap in the literature, and our results have implications for managing Wood Turtle populations in changing environments.

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