Seasonal Timing of Consumption of Calcium-Rich Caliche in the Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) in Central Arizona

Brian K. Sullivan; Thomas M. Cahill

doi:10.2744/CCB-1339.1

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Brian K. Sullivan,^1,* Thomas M. Cahill¹

¹School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Arizona State University, PO Box 37100, Phoenix, Arizon

^*Corresponding author

Abstract

Mohave Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) actively consume calcium-rich soil, bones, and stones, but this “mining” behavior is not well described for Sonoran Desert Tortoises (Gopherus morafkai). Over 8 yrs of study, we observed female G. morafkai consuming small white fragments of calcium-rich and phosphorus-poor caliche, but only during late May and June in an upland Sonoran Desert site in central Arizona. The temporal restriction of caliche consumption coincides with clutch development and egg deposition.

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Brian K. Sullivan and Thomas M. Cahill "Seasonal Timing of Consumption of Calcium-Rich Caliche in the Sonoran Desert Tortoise (Gopherus morafkai) in Central Arizona," Chelonian Conservation and Biology 18(1), 98-101, (5 June 2019). https://doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1339.1

Received: 5 July 2018; Accepted: 22 October 2018; Published: 5 June 2019

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