Leveraging Olfactory Misdirection Against Mammalian Predators: A Test with Artificial Turtle Nests

Ross O. Couvillon*

*Department of Biology, University of Louisiana at Monroe, Monroe, LA, 71209.

Southeastern Naturalist, Volume 25, Issue 1 (2026): 145-155

First published early online: 12 March 2026

Abstract
Turtle nests are vulnerable to a myriad of nest predators, which can subject turtle populations to exceptionally high rates of nest depredation. Mitigating the effects of turtle-nest predators is an important focus of wildlife-management efforts. Herein, I report the results of a targeted study to address the efficacy of olfactory camouflage in hindering mammalian predators from depredating artificial turtle nests. At a study site in northeastern Louisiana, I disturbed soil to camouflage the scent of an experimental nest. I paired each treatment with a solitary, control nest. Seven of 15 experimental replicates experienced at least 1 nest depredation over a 5-day monitoring period. There was no significant difference in survival time between experimental and control nests. The scale and spatial extent of soil disturbance used herein does not appear to hold substantial promise in curtailing turtle-nest depredations against a community of mammalian nest predators.

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