Stable Isotope Ecology of Desert Box Turtles at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

We have developed a project using Thermochron iButtons (miniature temperature dataloggers) to study desert box turtle thermal ecology. By attaching the iButtons to the carapaces of the animals, and pre-programming them to record at 15 minute intervals, we can easily see when the animals are emerging from their burrows, how long they are active, and when they re-enter shelter. Compared with iButtons at stratified heights in the environment, one can actually come up with a fairly solid time budget for these animals. In addition, we have a small strip of keratin from many of the captured turtles. This strip holds a sequence of every growth ring an animal has produced over its life, similar to a tree ring chronology. Together with blood plasma and red blood cell samples, we can model the nutritional ecology of these turtles, via stable isotope analyses, over the course of their lives. We will combine available climate data with growth ring measurements and iButton temperature profiles, to paint a robust and revealing picture of the ecology of an otherwise obscure inhabitant of the Sevilleta, the desert box turtle.

我们开发了一项基于Thermochron iButtons（微型温度数据记录仪）的研究项目，以探究沙漠箱龟的热生态学。通过将该记录仪安装在受试龟的背甲上，并预先设置为15分钟的记录间隔，我们可清晰获知该龟类出洞、活动时长以及重返遮蔽处所的时间节点。结合环境中不同分层高度布设的iButtons监测数据，我们能够为该龟类构建出可靠性较强的时间分配预算。此外，我们从多只捕获的沙漠箱龟身上采集了小块角蛋白组织，该组织承载着该龟一生形成的全部生长纹序列，与树木年轮年代学序列类似。结合采集的血浆与红细胞样本，我们可通过稳定同位素分析，构建该龟类整个生命周期内的营养生态学模型。我们将整合现有气候数据、生长纹测量数据以及iButtons温度剖面数据，以全面且深入地阐明塞维利塔（Sevilleta）区域内鲜为人知的栖息物种——沙漠箱龟的生态学特征。