Spring emergence of Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina): influences of individual variation and scale of temperature correlates

Many organisms spend considerable time in dormancy to avoid stressful environmental conditions. Understanding the timing and triggers of dormancy behavior is critical for understanding an animal’s life history and behavior. Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina (L., 1758)) avoid winter temperatures by burrowing into the soil and remaining dormant. Identifying the proximate environmental cues that trigger emergence can improve conservation efforts by reducing potential aboveground turtle mortality. During a 17-year study, half of all variation in emergence timing was attributed to individual variation and the habitat that they occupied during dormancy. We suggest that individual variation in emergence timing is common within populations and confounds efforts to identify reliable emergence cues. Additionally, the scale of meteorological data limits the ability to identify emergence predictors. Using data from temperature loggers placed at dormancy locations, we found that surface air temperatures, average...