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Reproductive ecology data for female Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in Joshua Tree National Park, USA

Metadata Updated: July 6, 2024

These data were compiled to evaluate the reproductive ecology of Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizzi) in the Sonoran Desert of California using two populations within Joshua Tree National Park, including five reproductive seasons that spanned 20 years (1997-1999, 2015-2016). Compared to their conspecifics inhabiting the Mojave Desert, the reproductive ecology of G. agassizii in the Sonoran Desert is understudied. Climatic variation between the two deserts can affect reproductive ecology, including fecundity and clutch phenology. Mature female tortoises (straight-line carapace length ≥ 20 cm) outfitted with radiotransmitters were located and X-radiographed approximately every 10-14 days during the reproductive season (April-July). The appearance of shelled eggs on X-radiographs allowed for the determination of clutch phenology (dates of appearance and disappearance of shelled clutches), as well as clutch size, clutch number, and X-ray egg width (XREW). XREW was measured at the widest portion of each egg, from the outermost point of each side of the shell, using dial calipers for film and K-PACS software for digital X-radiographs. XREW was determined from the first X-radiograph in which a clutch of eggs was clearly detectable. Data were also compiled on temperature and cumulative precipitation by wet and dry seasons using WestMap (https://cefa.dri.edu/Westmap/), and these data were used to reflect how temperature and precipitation potentially affect reproductive ecology. As a federally listed species, it is important to understand geographic variation in desert tortoise ecology for effective management of the species.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI EDI

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date June 1, 2023
Metadata Updated Date July 6, 2024
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
@Id http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/726de9a89b123b4f07d2de0e768b1416
Identifier USGS:5a7a0e4de4b00f54eb2005b6
Data Last Modified 20200827
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://datainventory.doi.gov/data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id ea363a59-33de-462d-8fa9-16a8d8ee6375
Harvest Source Id 52bfcc16-6e15-478f-809a-b1bc76f1aeda
Harvest Source Title DOI EDI
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -115.824,33.669,-115.716,33.857
Publisher Hierarchy White House > U.S. Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 864df3428182ded37ec76c061121d6d03bf98642adef8b671814c6a6c30aa6a3
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -115.824, 33.669, -115.824, 33.857, -115.716, 33.857, -115.716, 33.669, -115.824, 33.669}

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