Escapes from Hoop Nets by Red-Eared Sliders (Trachemys Scripta) (Notes) (Report‪)‬

Determining and monitoring structures of populations often are key components of research and management of wildlife (Campbell et al., 2002; Bolen and Robinson, 2003; Dinsmore and Johnson, 2005). Fully censusing populations typically is not feasible (Witmer, 2005); thus, sampling techniques are used to provide estimates of structure within or among populations (Buckland et al., 2000; Cooper et al., 2003; Lancia et al., 2005). Many techniques have been developed for sampling populations of aquatic turtles (Lagler, 1943; Vogt, 1980). Hoop nets are among the most common turtle-trapping devices used today (Davis, 1982; Conant and Collins, 1998; Thomas et al., 2008), and they are superior to most other passive-trapping devices (i.e., basking traps, fyke nets, and trammels) because they are lightweight, easily portable in large numbers, require only one worker, and provide easily quantifiable results. Despite these advantages, previous research has demonstrated that hoop nets might lead to biased estimates (Ream and Ream, 1966; Frazer et al., 1990; Gamble, 2006). Hoop nets are baited to attract turtles, and thus, are an incentive-based method of capture. If the incentive favors one sex or age-class over another, estimates of demographic parameters could be inaccurate (Voorhees et al., 1991; Thomas et al., 2008). Further, captured individuals attract additional turtles (Ream and Ream, 1966; Frazer et al., 1990). This might lead to male-biased captures during mating seasons as males are attracted to females in traps (Cagle and Chaney, 1950).