Abstract
Spatial ecology of Turks Island boas (Chilabothrus chrysogaster) was studied via radiotelemetry on Big Ambergris Cay in the Turks and Caicos Islands. A total of 13 female boas were radio tracked between August 2018 and January 2019 (mean SVL = 1040.2 ± 60.8 mm, mean mass = 438.7 g ± 98.2 g). Boas were implanted with internal radio transmitters via subcutaneous and intraperitoneal insertion, then relocated via radiotelemetry twice daily in 12 hour intervals. Boas did not use the same diurnal refuge, and traveled 1551.9 ± 688.1 meters on average. A kernel density analysis determined that an average of 24.9 ± 17.6 m2 captured 95% of the boa’s occupancy, while 3.9 ± 2.6 m captured 50% of boa home range occupancy. Density overlay analysis found 7/13 individuals to overlap in home ranges at any point on the island. These fundamental spatial ecology, movement pattern, and home range data can provide integral information that can contribute and further inform conservation formulae of this critically threatened taxa facing several multifaceted anthropogenic threats, as habitat fragmentation is one of the larger threats to the endemic and diverse reptile species in the West Indies.
How to Cite
Reger, M., (2019) “Spatial Ecology of the Turks Island Boa, Chilabothrus chrysogaster (Cope, 1871) (Serpentes: Boidae) on Ambergris Cay, Turks and Caicos Islands”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 32(1).
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