Característiques poblacionals de la tortuga mediterrània Testudo hermanni hermanni Gmelin a la serra de l'Albera (Reptilià: Testudinidae)

Abstract

During 2019, the population of the Hermann's tortoise in the Albera Mountains (Girona, Catalonia) has been censed using the capturemark- recapture method. The total sampled area was 95.7 ha. Furthermore, demographic parameters such as sex-ratio and age class data of the tortoises as well as biometric measurements have been collected. In total, 174 tortoises have been found throughout the sampled parcels and the tortoise density estimation (combining age and sex classes) has varied between 0.7 and 11.5 tortoises/ha. The sex-ratio has shown a bias to the females (1.0M:1.6F) and the adult age class represented the 85.6 % of the population. The adult tortoises show a high sexual dimorphism according to size, being females bigger than males (16 % larger -in straight carapace length- and 39 % heavier). The evaluation of demographic parameters has allowed the identification of some zones with a good population density. These zones could be safe areas and be used as an expansion nucleus for the species. Repeating the census over the coming years could become an appreciated tool to determine the evolution of Albera's population.