Terrestrial and Aquatic Site Fidelity in Western Chicken Turtles (Deirochelys reticularia miaria)

Brandon C. Bowers¹, Corey M. Fielder¹, Danielle K. Walkup¹, Toby J. Hibbitts^1,2, Paul S. Crump³, Roel R. Lopez¹, and Wade A. Ryberg^1,*

¹Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, 1001 Holleman Drive E, College Station, TX 77840.²Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843. ³Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, TX 78744. *Corresponding author.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 24, Issue 4 (2025): 403–416

First published early online: 26 December 2025

Abstract
Characterizing fidelity to refugia sites is important for conservation of semiaquatic taxa like turtles, as development near aquatic habitat such as wetlands can decrease survivorship in species that exhibit site-fidelity behavior. This study quantified terrestrial aestivation-site fidelity and examined demographic differences in aquatic site fidelity among Deirochelys reticularia miaria (Western Chicken Turtle) in Texas. Using telemetry and mark–recapture data, we measured fidelity to aestivation sites through 2 metrics: minimum bearing widths from the last wetland visited and mean pairwise distances among aestivation sites. Individuals showed directional similarity in movement to, and clustering of, terrestrial sites, with population mean pairwise distances indicating terrestrial site fidelity. Aquatic site fidelity varied by age, with juveniles using only 1 wetland, and mature individuals using up to 7. These findings emphasize the need to protect upland buffers around wetlands occupied by Western Chicken Turtles due to high terrestrial fidelity. Additionally, demographic differences in aquatic site fidelity should be considered in monitoring and population modeling in this species to avoid misinterpreting adult emigration as high mortality.

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