Date of Award

Fall 2025

Project Type

Thesis

Program or Major

Natural Resources

Degree Name

Master of Science

First Advisor

Rebecca Rowe

Second Advisor

Jennifer Purrenhage

Abstract

Freshwater turtles are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities that fragment critical habitats and impede movement across the landscape. The Blanding’s turtle (Emydoidea blandingii), a species that undergoes frequent interwetland movements, is particularly vulnerable to road mortality when natural habitats are disturbed or converted. Understanding the spatial ecology of this species is essential to inform effective conservation and management strategies. This study examined how landscape structure (composition and configuration) influences Blanding’s turtle home range size. Home range and core areas were modeled during the active season and separately for two distinct activity periods (nesting and post-nesting) using radio-telemetry data collected across five conservation priority sites in southern New Hampshire. Landcover was classified from NAIP imagery with the random forest algorithm and used to quantify landscape metrics at the scale of an individual’s home range. Results indicate that sex did not affect home range size during the active season, however female nesting period home ranges were significantly larger than males and females during the post-nesting period. Variation in home range size was associated with landscape heterogeneity and wetland fragmentation. Overall, home range size increased with low wetland connectivity and when non-wetland landcover types (forest, developed, open habitat) were highly aggregated or clustered together. Even though this study was conducted in conservation priority areas that are relatively undisturbed, great variation in home range size was documented and attributed to multiple landscape features. For long term population success, conservation efforts should prioritize enhancing wetland and forested habitat connectivity while continuing to understand how landscape complexities impact threatened and endangered species like the Blanding’s turtle.

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