Date of Award
Spring 2020
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Chair
Brian Kreiser
Committee Chair School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 2
Carl Qualls
Committee Member 2 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 3
Jake Schaefer
Committee Member 3 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 4
Micheal Davis
Committee Member 4 School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Committee Member 5
Will Selman
Abstract
Turtles are among one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups on the planet with more than half of all species worldwide listed as threatened, endangered or extinct by the International Union of the Conservation of Nature. The Southeastern United States is a global biodiversity hotspot for turtles, and it likely represents the last area on the planet of both high diversity and high abundance of turtle species. In the past century, there has been an exponential increase in the number of publications on turtles in the United States and Canada, however a recent review of the literature suggests that this research attention has not been spread evenly across taxa. The mud turtles (genus Kinosternon) and musk turtles (genus Sternotherus) of the family Kinosternidae remain one of the least studied turtle families. The lotic Sternotherus species have received very little research attention, particularly the stripe-necked musk turtle (Sternotherus peltifer) and the razorback musk turtle (Sternotherus carinatus) with the latter considered one of the top-ten least studied turtle species in the United States and Canada. No studies have examined the population genetics of these highly aquatic species across their geographic ranges, and this is particularly concerning as some states have had to issue moratoriums on commercial harvest of these species to prevent population declines. Harvested turtles are generally destined for overseas markets, as Southeast Asia has decimated its own turtle populations and must look to other areas of high diversity and abundance of turtles to satiate demand. Considering that very little is still known about these species, it is important to have baseline data on the population genetics of these species, as well as fill in knowledge gaps on their ecology to help make more informed conservation and management decisions.
Copyright
Grover Brown, 2020
Recommended Citation
Brown, Grover, "The Ecology and Evolutionary History of Two Musk Turtles in the Southeastern United States" (2020). Dissertations. 1762.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1762