Freshwater turtles in the Reserva Ecológica Ciudad Universitaria-Costanera Norte, Buenos Aires, Argentina
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.24.34.2.0.2299Keywords:
wetland, urban reserves, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos AiresAbstract
This work aims to confirm the presence of freshwater turtles in the Reserva Ecológica Ciudad Universitaria-Costanera Norte, to assess whether there are monthly variations in the relative abundance of any of the observed species and to study their behavior and habitat use. We conducted weekly observations from October 2022 to June 2023 at four sites in the wetland (HI1, HI2, HI3 and HC), between 12:00 and 16:00 h. The observed turtles were identified and categorized based on behavior as resting, displacing and feeding. Variations in relative abundance were analyzed per site using the Kruskal-Wallis test, applying BenjaminiHochberg post-hoc contrasts when differences were found between months. We detected the presence of Phrynops hilarii, Trachemys dorbigni and Hydromedusa tectifera, with P. hilarii being the most abundant and frequent. No significant relative abundance differences were found for P. hilarii between months in HI2 (χ2=13.78; P=0.088) and HI3 (χ2=7.28; P=0.507). However, there was a higher relative abundance in December compared to May (z=-3.17; P.adj=0.028) and April (z=-3.17; P.adj=0.028) in HI1, and in October than November (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017), December (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017), January (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017), February (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017), March (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017) and June (z=-2.99; P.adj=0.017) for HC. Resting and displacement behaviors were observed at all four sites, while feeding behavior was only observed in HI2 and HI3. We defined resting areas in HI1 and HC, resting and feeding areas in HI2 and HI3 and transit areas in HI1, HI2 and HI3. We propose management measures to ensure the conservation of turtles in the reserve.
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