There are many plausible reasons for the discrepancy in the observed heterozygosity of Blanding’s turtles in the Kingston area. A few possible theories may explain these such as habitat loss due to the urbanization of Area 2, human impact, and nest predation. The Hardy-Weinberg principle states that the allele and genotype frequencies of a population will remain constant as long as population remains large. Thus, a change in the population may change the allele and genotype frequencies which may change the observed heterozygosity. Due to the amount of human interaction, the bottleneck effect, which occurs when the size of a population is reduced due to a natural disaster or human actions, may be occurring to cause the generic variance. Habitat
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There are noticeable urbanized major cities as well as less greenery. For a species like the Blanding’s turtle, which has very particular habitat requirements and can’t move great distances, this alteration may have serious impacts on their ability to survive. An investigation of the habitat use and movement of Blanding’s Turtle was conducted to gain knowledge on how habitat alteration effects Blanding’s Turtle and assess the importance of conserving wetlands (Joyal et al. 2002). It was determined that protecting and conserving wetlands in groups are important components of a landscape approach to species conservation (Joyal et al. 2002). Alterations of wetlands may be one of the many ways humans effect the observed heterozygosity of Blanding’s Turtle, thus causing a difference in genetic variability between the two areas of …show more content…
Raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes are the most common predators and are a significant source of nest failure. Turtle eggs being stolen from a mother’s nest effects the reclusive fitness (contribution to the gene pool of the next generation). If the turtle cannot reproduce due to predation, population will decrease and so will the reclusive fitness. Cool summer temperatures may also increase the rate of nest failure and result in the production of less viable hatchlings, which need sufficient heat to fully develop. Due to the lakes present in Area 2, the temperature is slightly cooler due to the more temperate weather caused by these lakes. Thus, Area 2 may have a lower genetic variability due to the lower temperatures in that area. A study was done to obtain accurate information on the reproductive nature of Blanding’s Turtle. The nests were covered with wire-screen cages to protect from predation. It was determined that no female produced more than one clutch (10.6 eggs) per season, and almost 70% of females nested less than annually (Standing et al. 1999). They concluded that lower temperatures appear to be major cause of egg failure in this population and that more effective means of reducing nest failure and bolstering recruitment must be implemented if efforts to aid the recovery of this threatened population of Blanding's turtle (Standing et al.
There are noticeable urbanized major cities as well as less greenery. For a species like the Blanding’s turtle, which has very particular habitat requirements and can’t move great distances, this alteration may have serious impacts on their ability to survive. An investigation of the habitat use and movement of Blanding’s Turtle was conducted to gain knowledge on how habitat alteration effects Blanding’s Turtle and assess the importance of conserving wetlands (Joyal et al. 2002). It was determined that protecting and conserving wetlands in groups are important components of a landscape approach to species conservation (Joyal et al. 2002). Alterations of wetlands may be one of the many ways humans effect the observed heterozygosity of Blanding’s Turtle, thus causing a difference in genetic variability between the two areas of …show more content…
Raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes are the most common predators and are a significant source of nest failure. Turtle eggs being stolen from a mother’s nest effects the reclusive fitness (contribution to the gene pool of the next generation). If the turtle cannot reproduce due to predation, population will decrease and so will the reclusive fitness. Cool summer temperatures may also increase the rate of nest failure and result in the production of less viable hatchlings, which need sufficient heat to fully develop. Due to the lakes present in Area 2, the temperature is slightly cooler due to the more temperate weather caused by these lakes. Thus, Area 2 may have a lower genetic variability due to the lower temperatures in that area. A study was done to obtain accurate information on the reproductive nature of Blanding’s Turtle. The nests were covered with wire-screen cages to protect from predation. It was determined that no female produced more than one clutch (10.6 eggs) per season, and almost 70% of females nested less than annually (Standing et al. 1999). They concluded that lower temperatures appear to be major cause of egg failure in this population and that more effective means of reducing nest failure and bolstering recruitment must be implemented if efforts to aid the recovery of this threatened population of Blanding's turtle (Standing et al.