An 8-wk mark-and-recapture study using baited fyke nets showed that native red-bellied cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris) (estimated population 738–3618) were more abundant than non-native red-eared sliders (Trachemys scripta elegans) (estimated population 256–520) in Lake Matoaka in southeastern Virginia. Red-bellied cooters have maintained a similarly large population since a prior study in 2004 with a balanced female:male sex ratio of 0.91:1, but over that time, capture of red-eared sliders has increased almost 5-fold; their size distribution is broader than that of red-bellied cooters, and their sex ratio is dominated by females (2.02:1). Persistence of native red-bellied cooters in Lake Matoaka may be challenged by the apparent ongoing growth of the invasive red-eared slider population.
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2 July 2024
Population Demographics of Native Red-Bellied Cooters and Invasive Red-Eared Sliders in a Virginia Lake
Cypress Ambrose,
Abigail DeCesare,
Randolph M. Chambers
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Chelonian Conservation and Biology
Vol. 23 • No. 1
June 2024
Vol. 23 • No. 1
June 2024
invasive species
red-bellied cooter
red-eared slider