NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A research project that’s the joint effort of several institutions across Middle Tennessee aimed at better understanding how Eastern Box Turtles navigate the Central Basin has wrapped its first stage.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said Michaela Bass-Zaidan has wrapped up her three-year project fitting Eastern Box Turtles with transmitters to document how they use both micro- and macro-habitats. Every month, Bass-Zaidan would swab the turtles to check for disease to also get a better understanding of how certain pathogens could affect behavior and habitat use.
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Tennessee State University and the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere helped conduct the project, the TWRA said.
The agency said the project highlighted a major issue: habitat fragmentation. That happens when development increases, pushing animals to closer proximity with humans than they would be otherwise. Habitat fragmentation affects many possible areas, including disease transmission, movement and stress.
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The Eastern Box Turtle is common across the state, per the TWRA, although populations have been in decline. Death by car and collection for pets has put the population at risk.
Next, Bass-Zaidan plans to compare the results from this study with data from a more rural Eastern Box Turtle population to better understand how urbanization affects the species…