Volume 4, Number 2- December 2002
Special Focus Section: The Gopherine Tortoises, Gopherus spp.
CONTENTS
Prologue
Editorial comment. ANDERS G.J. RHODIN 247
Articles
The Desert Tortoise, Gopherus agassizii
Defining the desert tortoise(s): our first priority for a coherent conservation strategy. KRISTIN H. BERRY, DAVID J. MORAFKA, AND ROBERT W. MURPHY 249
Is Gopherus agassizii a desert-adapted tortoise, or an exaptive opportunist? Implications for tortoise conservation. DAVID J. MORAFKA AND KRISTIN H. BERRY 263
Reproduction in a desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) population on the Beaver Dam Slope, Washington County, Utah. ANN M. MCLUCKIE AND RICK A. FRIDELL 288
Reproduction of Gopherus agassizii in the Sonoran Desert, Arizona. ROY C. AVERILL-MURRAY 295
The annual reproductive cycle of the male and female desert tortoise: physiology and endocrinology. VALENTINE A. LANCE AND DAVID C. ROSTAL 302
Chronology of sex determination in the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). DAVID C. ROSTAL, THANE WIBBELS, JANICE S. GRUMBLES, VALENTINE A. LANCE, AND JAMES R. SPOTILA 313
Energy and water balance, diet, and reproduction of female desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). BRIAN THOMAS HENEN 319
Alien plants and fire in desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) habitat of the Mojave and Colorado deserts. MATTHEW L. BROOKS AND TODD C. ESQUE 330
Selective spring foraging by juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Mojave Desert: evidence of an adaptive nutritional strategy. OLAV T. OFTEDAL, SCOTT HILLARD, AND DAVID J. MORAFKA 341
Diet selection by the desert tortoise in relation to the flowering phenology of ephemeral plants. W. BRYAN JENNINGS 353
An experimental assessment of color, calcium, and insect dietary preferences of captive juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). CHRIS L. OKAMOTO 359
A landscape sampling protocol for estimating distribution and density patterns of desert tortoises at multiple spatial scales. ANTHONY J. KRZYSIK 366
Regional desert tortoise monitoring in the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit, Washington County, Utah. ANN M. MCLUCKIE, DEBORAH L. HARSTAD, JESSE W. MARR, AND RICK A. FRIDELL 380
Spatial organization of desert tortoises and their burrows at a landscape scale. JEFFREY J. DUDA, ANTHONY J. KRZYSIK, AND JOEL M. MELOCHE 387
Patterns of burrow use by desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in southcentral Nevada. KURT R. RAUTENSTRAUCH, DANNY L. RAKESTRAW, GREG A. BROWN, JAMES L. BOONE, AND PATRICK E. LEDERLE 398
Comparative dispersion of neonate and headstarted juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii): a preliminary assessment of age effects. LISA C. HAZARD AND DAVID J. MORAFKA 406
Shell kinesis in juvenile desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii. MARSHA L. MAROLDA 410
Using growth ring counts to age juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the wild. KRISTIN H. BERRY 416
A condition index for the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). KENNETH A. NAGY, BRIAN T. HENEN, DEVESH B. VYAS, AND IAN R. WALLIS 425
Effects on survival of desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) urinating during handling. ROY C. AVERILL-MURRAY 430
Deaths of desert tortoises following periods of drought and research manipulation. KRISTIN H. BERRY, E. KAREN SPANGENBERG, BRUCE L. HOMER, AND ELLIOTT R. JACOBSON 436
Impacts of vehicle road traffic on desert tortoise populations with consideration of conservation of tortoise habitat in southern Nevada. KARIN VON SECKENDORFF HOFF AND RONALD WILLIAM MARLOW 449
Comparison of desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) populations in an unused and off-road vehicle area in the Mojave Desert. R. BRUCE BURY AND ROGER A. LUCKENBACH 457
The Gopher Tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus
Reserve area requirements for gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus). JEANNINE OTT EUBANKS, JEFF W. HOLLISTER, CRAIG GUYER, AND WILLIAM K. MICHENER 464
A comparison of GIS and survey estimates of gopher tortoise habitat and numbers of individuals in Florida. EARL D. MCCOY, BETH STYS, AND HENRY R. MUSHINSKY 472
Population biology of the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) in southeast Georgia. DAVID C. ROSTAL AND DOUGLAS N. JONES, JR. 479
The Texas Tortoise, Gopherus berlandieri
Home range and dispersal of Texas tortoises, Gopherus berlandieri, in a managed thornscrub ecosystem. RICHARD T. KAZMAIER1, ERIC C. HELLGREN2, AND DONALD C. RUTHVEN, III 488
Mycoplasmal Disease in Gopherus spp.
Application of diagnostic tests for mycoplasmal infections of desert and gopher tortoises, with management recommendations. DANIEL R. BROWN, ISABELLA M. SCHUMACHER, GRACE S. MCLAUGHLIN, LORI D. WENDLAND, MARY B. BROWN, PAUL A. KLEIN, AND ELLIOTT R. JACOBSON 497