Data from: Landscape-level factors influencing bog turtle persistence and distribution in southeastern New York State

The bog turtle Glyptemys muhlenbergii is a highly endangered species
inhabiting freshwater wetlands of the eastern United States. Habitat
degradation is considered one of the chief causes of bog turtle declines.
Most of the studies investigating habitat requirements of bog turtles
focus on intrawetland influences on bog turtle habitat, but few have
explored landscape-level drivers of bog turtle distribution. To better
understand causes of bog turtle declines, we combined bog turtle
occurrence records with geographic data to contrast 12 landscape variables
among wetlands containing extant populations of bog turtles (n  =  65) and
500 nearby and 500 distant, randomly located wetlands in southeastern New
York State. In contrast to randomly chosen wetlands, bog turtles have
persisted in relatively large, open-canopy wetlands (typically
>0.42 ha) within large watersheds (typically >13.54 ha), in
wetlands with more numerous stream connections, and more often in wetlands
positioned atop carbonaceous rock types. Wetlands occurring within
carbonaceous surficial geological settings may be more resistant to bog
turtle habitat degradation and hence likely to support more persistent
populations of bog turtles. Our findings that geomorphic features and
intrawetland vegetation are the most useful predictors of bog turtle
occurrence and persistence in southeastern New York State are important
for generating more detailed hypotheses regarding drivers of bog turtle
declines and are also helpful for prioritizing sites for bog turtle
conservation and guiding surveys to discover new populations.