SURVIVoRSHIP, HoME RANGE, GRoWTH AND REPRoDUCTIoN oF EASTERN Box TURTLES (TERRAPENE CARoLiNA) HEAD-STARTED To SUBADULT SIZE oN JEkyLL ISLAND, GEoRGIA, USA

Turtle conservation programs should address underlying threats, but population reinforcement measures, such as head-starting, may also play an important role in some situations. Head-starting involves captive-rearing hatchlings to larger body sizes, making them less vulnerable to predators, before release into the wild. Head-starting for a year or less can increase survival, but short head-start durations typically produce small individuals that remain quite vulnerable to predators. We head-started Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina), a declining species of Eastern North America, for 2-3 y until they achieved subadult size in the hope that this would lead to high survival following release. We released nine head-started subadults onto Jekyll Island (Georgia, USA), and assessed survivorship, home range, and growth via radio telemetry. All nine head-started turtles survived from release until radio transmitter removal 4 y later. Home ranges (median minimum convex polygon = 3.1 ha; range, 1.3-28.9 ha) were comparable to those of wild individuals in other studies, and at least eight head-started turtles reached adult size. Radiographs of two females incidentally recaptured 7 y and 10 y after release indicated egg production. Survival of large subadult head-started turtles in this project was greater than that of hatchlings and small juvenile T. carolina head-started turtles in other studies, suggesting that head-starting to subadult size may represent an effective population reinforcement option worthy of further study in this and other turtle species.