Aspects of the Social and Spatial Experience of Eastern Box Turtles, Terrapene carolina carolina

An investigation of the ways in which eastern box turtles experience their social and spatial environment was conducted using an ethological approach in combination with a phenomenological orientation. The primary question of what the turtles experienced was addressed by determining what they could discriminate. Discrimination between other individuals and between areas of space was investigated. The inquiry was extended to investigate the quality of this experience by assessing the functional significance of the cues and behavior patterns involved in such discriminations. The approach was to observe behavior in relation to its context in a combination of naturalistic, seminaturalistic, and laboratory settings. Discrimination of spatial areas was studied in the field by repeatedly locating turtles through the use of telemetry. Most turtles were found to use only prescribed areas within the larger area of suitable habitat. Difficulties in unobtrusively observing the turtles in the field made it impossible to assess directly the basis of this discrimination.