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ABSTRACT |
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TITLE: |
Recruitment of Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)
to a Newly constructed Pipeline Corridor in |
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AUTHOR(S): |
David P. Thomas - dthomas@ensr.com |
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In 1998, thirty-nine gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus)
were located in seventy-five active/inactive burrows along a proposed natural
gas pipeline corridor in southeastern Mississippi. Thirty-four tortoises were
temporarily displaced from these burrows, and were prevented from returning
to the corridor while the pipeline was being constructed. Upon completion of
pipeline construction and restoration of the pipeline corridor, barricades
were removed, and the tortoises were again given access to the new pipeline
corridor. One year after completion of the pipeline, the corridor was
resurveyed. Nine tortoises were identified from twenty-two newly-dug burrows
on the pipeline corridor. The actual number of tortoises from these burrows
may be as high as seventeen, as conclusive occupancy could not be determined
for some burrows. In addition to the new burrows located on the pipeline
corridor, there were forty-two new burrows observed in the adjacent habitat,
possibly indicating that additional gopher tortoises were taking advantage of
the maintained right-of-way for foraging, basking, and as a travel corridor. Keywords: Gopher tortoise, corridor, protected species,
natural gas pipeline, ruderal habitat |
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