Macrohabitat and microhabitat usage by two softshell turtles (Trionyx triunguis and Cyclanorbis senegalensis) in West and Central Africa

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Résumé

No field studies have been conducted characterizing the habitat characteristics and eventual spatialresource partitioning between softshell turtles (family Trionychidae) in West and Central Africa. Here, we analyzethe macrohabitat, microhabitat (along four variables), and apparent population abundance of Nile Soft-shelledTerrapin (Trionyx triunguis) and Senegal Flap-shelled Terrapin (Cyclanorbis senegalensis) by collating 22 y of data(1995–2017) from 11 countries in West and Central Africa. We found that the carapace length of T. triunguis wassignificantly larger than C. senegalensis. Qualitative observations on the apparent population abundance suggeststhat the smaller species was relatively common in most of the sampled sites, whereas the larger species was oftenrare or even very rare. We found the two species in a variety of macrohabitats, and a clear difference between themwas not apparent in our data. Instead, at the microhabitat scale, the two species differed significantly in all the fourmicrohabitat variables considered in this study. Overall, the data we present are consistent with a general pattern ofresource partitioning previously highlighted for freshwater turtle communities worldwide, where sympatric speciestend to partition the microhabitat resources and not the available macrohabitats. Because T. triunguis seemed rarein most of the surveyed sites, we suggest that more field investigations should be undertaken to understand whetherthe current status of Vulnerable is suited for this species, or if a more highly threatened category on the Red Listshould be adopted.
(PDF) Macrohabitat and microhabitat usage by two softshell turtles (Trionyx triunguis and Cyclanorbis senegalensis) in West and Central Africa.

Mots-clés

conservation; ecology; habitat selection; Trionychidae; West-Central Africa