Coordinating management and conservation of Gopher Tortoises on lands managed by multiple Federal agencies

Background/Question/Methods Federal lands managed by different agencies can present challenges for biologists charged with conducting conservation-oriented monitoring and research. This is especially true when the management approaches and philosophies of the agencies differ broadly from each other. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in east-central Florida represents one of the largest protected lands in the state (56,000 ha) and harbors numerous species that are state or federally listed as threatened, endangered, or of special concern. Four Federal agencies (NASA, the U. S. Air Force, the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service) have some management responsibilities for this site. Here, we present results of over 20 years of research on a state-listed Threatened species, the gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus), considered to be a keystone species in this ecosystem. Research efforts have included radio-telemetry of adults and hatchlings, monitoring of disease, determining genetic structure, and a long-term mark-recapture program.

Results/Conclusions Tortoise populations at KSC are among the most abundant in the state, presumably due to limited habitat alterations and human depredation. Under good conditions, over 100 tortoises can easily be captured in a single day at portions of this site. Survival rates of adults appear to be extremely high and adults marked in the 1970's are still found after 2007. However, the impacts of roads, novel diseases, and subsidized predators, as well as alteration of fire regimes, have all had major effects on tortoise populations in recent years. Special concerns focus on (a) extremely low survival rates of hatchling tortoises (effectively zero) and (b) the impending loss of critical habitat due to potential sea level rise. Levels of concern regarding these impacts vary widely among the resource agencies, as does the probability of specific management actions