Document Type
Honors Thesis
Abstract
The turtle population within Fort Worth has been observed to be in danger. Turtles of all species were washing up on lakes and rivers deceased or incapacitated, often diseased and lacking any sense of innate self-preservation that would otherwise be present in the species. The research conducted aimed to trap and track the turtle population using Passive Integrated Transponders, or PITs. These techniques were utilized to further solidify any potential new disease outbreak or trend in turtle deaths so that further action could be taken in the future. The turtles were each measured for circumference, weight, and sex while the total number of turtles captured were sorted through a table and organized by species. The data was then applied and the total number of turtles per the three years of testing was compared. The data, when reviewed, pointed towards a notable change in turtle population that could explain the reported sightings of mass turtle deaths. The mean of the first half of data was 37.4 turtles trapped and tracked while the final data points mean resulted in 33.2 turtles trapped and tracked. The research clearly shows a decline in turtle population in a short time span-pointing towards a possible new, devastating event that is targeting turtle species in the DFW area.
Publication Date
12-1-2021
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Nguyen, My Dung, "COLLECTED DATA AND RESEARCH INTO TURTLE POPULATIONS IN THE FORT WORTH AREA" (2021). 2021 Fall Honors Capstone Projects. 14.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/honors_fall2021/14