Severe mortality of a population of threatened Agassiz’s desert tortoises: the American badger as a potential predator

Endangered Species Research

Todd C. Esque¹  Christina M. Aiello¹  Patrick G. Emblidge¹  Andrew D. Walde¹  Ken E. Nussear¹ 

关键词: Desert tortoise;    Predation;    American badger;    Native predator;   

DOI  :  10.3354/esr00680

学科分类：动物科学

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: In the Mojave Desert of the southwestern United States, adult Agassiz’s desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii typically experience high survival, but population declines associated with anthropogenic impacts led to their listing as a threatened Species under the US Endangered Species Act in 1990. Predation of adult tortoises is not often considered a significant threat as they are adapted to deter most predation attempts. Despite these adaptations, some populations have experienced elevated mortality attributed to predators, suggesting that predation pressure may occasionally increase. During the tortoise activity seasons of 2012 and 2013, we observed unsustainably high mortality in 1 of 4 populations of adult desert tortoises (22 and 84%, respectively) in the western Mojave Desert in the vicinity of Barstow, CA. Photographic evidence from trail cameras and examination of carcass condition suggest that American badgers Taxidea taxus—a sometimes cited but unconfirmed predator of adult tortoises—may have been responsible for some of the mortality observed. We discuss the American badger as a plausible predator of a local tortoise population, but recommend further investigation into these events and the impacts such mortality can have on tortoise persistence.

【 授权许可】

Unknown