Home Range and Survival of Headstarted Northern Red-Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris) in Plymouth County, Massachusetts

We radio-tracked 10 headstarted, 9-mo-old northern red-bellied cooters (Pseudemys rubriventris) from release in May until overwintering in October, to document movement, survival, and dispersal at 2 ponds in Plymouth County, Massachusetts. Home range estimates ranged from 0.54 to 3.35 ha, encompassing ∼12%–52% of the ponds. At least 8 of the 10 headstarted turtles were alive in October. From May to October the probability of survival was 0.987 in Pond A and 0.929 in Pond B, and the probability of remaining in the release pond was 0.929 at Pond A and 1.0 at Pond B. Our results indicate that, for the first activity season following release, headstarted turtles develop home ranges that do not necessarily encompass the entire release pond, survival is relatively high, and dispersal is apparently low.