Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

Submission Date

October 2026

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Moore, Jon

Abstract

Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) the world’s only exclusively estuarine turtle are listed as threatened and endangered through much of their range from Massachusetts to the east coast of Texas. Malaclemys terrapin is divided into seven subspecies based on geographic location and variations in physical appearance. For my research, I examined the diet of the Florida East Coast Diamondback Terrapins, M. terrapin tequesta, in the Indian River Lagoon near Vero Beach, Florida. I analyzed 13 terrapin fecal samples. Of these, all but one contained the remains of decapod crustaceans, the most common of which was the mangrove tree crab, Aratus pisonii, found in six samples. Bivalve, gastropod, and plant material were also present in several samples. This primarily crustacean diet contrasts with the diets of other M. terrapin subspecies that have ben studied, which fed most commonly on plants, gastropods, and bivalves.

Comments

Thesis (B.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, 2021

Extent

35 p.

Identifier

FAUHT00182

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