SREL Reprint #1914

Do flag markers attract turtle nest predators?

Tracey D. Tuberville and Vincent J. Burke

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Introduction: Studies that monitor the fate of turtle nests often require a system that allows identification of individual nests. In many studies of turtle nests, plastic flagging is used for this purpose (J. Congdon, pers. comm.; Fowler, 1979). Because of their conspicuous nature, flags may affect visitation rates to nest sites by predators. Previous studies on potential effects of flags have focused primarily on predators of ground-nesting birds (Baker, 1978; Yahner and Wright, 1985). These studies suggested that avian predators, such as crows, do associate some types of nest markers with nest sites. However, no evidence was found that suggested mammalian predators were attracted to nest markers (Baker, 1978, 1980). Some researchers have avoided use of nest markers due to concern that markers might attract predators to bird nesting sites (Angelstam, 1986; Yahner and Cypher, 1987). However, we know of no studies that have investigated the effect of flagging on predators of turtle nests.

SREL Reprint #1914

Tuberville, T.D. and V.J. Burke. 1994. Do flag markers attract turtle nest predators? Journal of Herpetology 28:514-516. 

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).