Comparison of movements, body weight, and habitat selection between translocated and resident gopher tortoises

Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are among the most frequently translocated herpetofauna; yet, determining translocation success is difficult because tortoises are slow-growing, longlived organisms with low reproductive potential. Comparing behavioral traits of translocated individuals with those of sympatric or nearby resident individuals can provide an ecologically relevant baseline to determine if translocated individuals show behavioral traits consistent with those of long-term residents. We used radio telemetry to concurrently monitor 21 translocated and 15 resident gopher tortoises across 2 sites in southern Georgia and compared movement patterns, body weights, and multi-scale habitat selection between treatments. Translocated tortoises moved farther and had larger home ranges than resident tortoises but showed similar patterns of site fidelity. We observed no differences in body weight change between treatments. Patterns of habitat selection were similar between treatments in that tortoises selected structurally open habitats at all scales. Our study suggests that more extensive post-release movements compared to resident individuals may not necessarily lead to lower site fidelity in translocated individuals. We suspect that the presence of structurally suitable habitat within the release area and retaining translocated individuals within a pre-release enclosure for 10 months contributed to high site fidelity. Although comparing translocated and resident individuals can help inform translocation efforts, we caution that using resident individuals from ecological sinks may lead to misleading results.