Mojave desert tortoise(Gopherus agassizii)thermal ecology and reproductive success along a rainfall cline

作     者：Annette E.SIEG Megan M.GAMBONE Bryan P.WALLACE Susana CLUSELLATRULLAS James R.SPOTILA Harold W.AVERY 

作者机构：Department of Natural SciencesUniversity of Michigan-DearbornDearbornMichiganUSA HDRPlymouth MeetingPennsylvaniaUSA Nicholas School of the EnvironmentDuke University Marine LaboratoryBeaufortNorth CarolinaUSA Stratus ConsultingBoulderColoradoUSA Centre for Invasion BiologyDepartment of Botany and ZoologyStellenbosch UniversityPrivate Bag X1Matieland 7602South Africa Department of BiodiversityEarth and Environmental ScienceDrexel UniversityPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA Department of BiologyThe College of New JerseyEwingNew JerseyUSA 

出 版 物：《Integrative Zoology》 (整合动物学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2015年第10卷第3期

页      面：282-294页

核心收录：

学科分类：120201[管理学-会计学] 12[管理学] 1202[管理学-工商管理] 

基　　金：E.Stauffer provided invaluable field and logistical assistance.V.Izzo,A.Curtin and numerous Earthwatch volunteers were important contributors to the dataset.E.Beever and D.Pyke kindly shared their original vegetation survey data.G.Freeman allowed us access to his property within the Pumphouse plot.A grant from Earthwatch and the Betz Chair for Environmental Science funded this research.All research was conducted under the Mojave National Preserve Scientific Research and Collecting Permit No.MOJA-2003-SCI-0068(Study No.MOJA-00116) the State of California Collecting Permit 801176-04 the US Fish and Wildlife Service(10(a)1(A))Permit No.TE049000-0,following a protocol approved by the Drexel University IACUC(01059,Project No.689) 

主　　题：Gopherus agassizii operative environments reproductive ecology resource gradient 

摘      要：Desert resource environments(***,food)are tied to limited,highly localized rainfall regimes which generate microgeographic variation in the life histories of ***,enhanced growth rates,reproduction and survivorship are observed in response to increased resource availability in a variety of desert plants and short-lived *** examined the thermal ecology and reproduction of US federally threatened Mojave desert tortoises(Gopherus agassizii),long-lived and large-bodied ectotherms,at opposite ends of a 250-m elevation-related rainfall cline within Ivanpah Valley in the eastern Mojave Desert,California,*** operative environments in both the upper-elevation,“Cima,and the lower-elevation,“Pumphouse,plots corresponded with daily and seasonal patterns of incident solar *** received 22%more rainfall and contained greater perennial vegetative cover,which conferred 5°C-cooler daytime shaded *** a monitored average rainfall year,Cima tortoises had longer potential activity periods by up to several hours and greater ephemeral *** resource availability in Cima was associated with larger-bodied females producing larger eggs,while still producing the same number of eggs as Pumphouse ***,reproductive success was lower in Cima because 90%of eggs were depredated versus 11%in Pumphouse,indicating that predatory interactions produced counter-gradient variation in reproductive success across the rainfall ***-use impacts on deserts(*** energy generation)are increasing rapidly,and conservation strategies designed to protect and recover threatened desert inhabitants,such as desert tortoises,should incorporate these strong ecosystem-level responses to regional resource variation in assessments of habitat for prospective development and mitigation efforts.