Abstract
Ethology—the study of animal behavior—examines the infinite ways that an individual animal interacts with its environment, combing evolutionary, genetic, developmental, ecological, and mechanistic approaches to study both the proximate and ultimate drivers of observable behaviors (Rubenstein and Alcock 2018). Animal behavior is an expansive field of study, which includes (at a minimum) communication and social interactions, foraging, defense, and reproductive behavior, among many other elements. One of the most important aspects of animal behavior, particularly as it relates to wildlife ecology and conservation, is the way animals move and use space on a landscape. The field of spatial ecology has grown rapidly over the last several decades as ecologists increasingly recognize the importance of scale, as well as the relationship between ecological processes and landscape composition and heterogeneity (Fletcher and Fortin 2018). As global environments become increasingly fragmented and dominated by anthropogenic drivers, the interaction between ecological systems and spatial heterogeneity becomes all the more important to understand and incorporate into ecological studies and biodiversity conservation efforts alike. Wood Turtles are an interesting case study, because they are reliant upon certain disturbed habitats for nesting, foraging, and thermoregulation, but they are also highly vulnerable to most anthropogenic methods of creating early-successional habitats.
Keywords
activity,
foraging,
habitat,
movement,
nesting,
wood turtle (Glyptemys insculpta)
Citation
Willey, Lisabeth L.; Akre, Tomas S.B.; Jones, Michael T.; Brown, Donald J.; Tamplin, Jefrey W. 2021. Spatial ecology and seasonal behavior. In: Jones, Michael T.; Willey, Lisabeth L., eds. Biology & conservation of the wood turtle. Petersburgh, NY: Northeast Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Inc.: 113-136. Chapter 6.
