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

Metadata Updated: November 19, 2025

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 September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 19, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 19, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5a7a0e4de4b00f54eb2005b6
Data Last Modified 2020-08-27T00:00:00Z
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://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-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 0b69cd33-46a6-4323-af85-b2dbb9d13645
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 4187786cfd835a675e579864276507ec84b1d1365d28c9d037316e86099471c0
Source Schema Version 1.1

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