Desert Tortoise Ecology and Precipitation, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts—Data

Publication Date

2017-06-13

Start Date

1995

End Date

2013

Lovich, J.E., Ennen, J.R., Averill-Murray, R.C., and Agha, Mickey, 2017, Desert tortoise reproductive ecology and precipitation, Mojave and Sonoran Deserts—Data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7JS9NN9.

Type: Related Primary Publication

The purpose of the tortoise data are to compare and contrast the reproductive strategies of the two species relative to their environments and test theories related to reproductive investment related to egg size and clutch size/frequency. The purpose of the precipitation data are to understand the influence of the amount and timing (e.g., winter or summer) of precipitation on egg width and variability. We collected monthly precipitation from two biologically important periods (i.e., winter and summer) for each site. We collected winter precipitation (October-March) because germination of annual plants, which are staples in tortoise diets, in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts are associated with timing and quantity of winter precipitation. Both timing and amount of winter precipitation are associated with reproductive output in both species. We collected summer precipitation (i.e., June-September) as a variable associated with environmental conditions experienced by eggs and hatchlings.

• USGS Data Release Products
• USGS Southwest Biological Science Center (SBSC)

Data source

Input directly