Scientific Journal Article Critique

Scientific Journal Article Critique Laura Boles ENV95: Environmental Research Instructor Amanda Slaughter 08/13/2019  Scientific Journal Article Critique Introduction The article to be critiqued in this evaluation is “Spatial Use And Selection Of Habitat In A Reintroduced Population Of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii)” by Daniel B Moore, Day B. Ligon, Brian M. Fillmore, and Stanley F. Fox, published in March of 2014 in The Southwestern Naturalist. This study’s purpose was to observe what the preferred habitat and movement patterns of a translocated and head-started alligator snapping turtle population. This research utilized a field experiment to observe and record turtle habitat selection and movement patterns. 67 turtles of varying age and gender were released into an impounded section of river. The turtles were marked with drill holes and approximately half of them were fitted with transmitters. This made it easier to ensure locating some of the turtles upon recapture searches. GPS was used to locate turtles while GIS was used to map out the locations in which the turtles were found. When turtles were found, water depth, canopy coverage, water clarity, and temperature of the water were measured and recorded along with the coordinate location of the turtle. This helped to determine habitat choice. Turtles were searched for weekly. Random location points were chosen to compare potential habitat choice with actual habitat choice. Tests of the depth of the water that each turtle chose to reside in showed that all of the turtles generally preferred shallower waters. The tests done to measure canopy density showed that all turtles also chose areas with higher levels of canopy cover. These results contribute towards finding out what types of habitat is preferred by the turtles. Mapping of the locations at which each turtle was found showed that there was no significant difference in the home ranges or dispersal distances for any of the turtles. Mapping helped to show the movement patterns of individual turtles and allowed it to be compared to the movements of other turtles in the same area. The author was successfully able to describe the preferred habitat for the alligator snapping turtle. Movement patterns within a constricted range were successfully plotted, however there were major barriers to turtle movement in the isolated oxbow used for the study. The research did not provide new information or a new research technique. The research did provide support for the phenomenon of turtle aggregation. This study claims to emphasize the need for long-term research on long-lived species. The observations and interpretations supported the observations made by previous researchers in the field who have studied the habitat selection and movement patterns of turtles. Body Introduction The title of the article mostly states what the article is about. However, the title says “Spatial Use And Selection Of Habitat… (Moore, et al. 2014, Pg. 30). While the article does cover habitat selection and movement range of alligator snapping turtles, what the turtles use the various spaces for is not answered or discussed in the paper. The abstract does not have a statement of purpose. The abstract does state what was done and what was measured. The introduction provides adequate and interesting background of the alligator snapping turtle and the history of translocation and head-starting. The information coherently flows through the introduction and into the study at hand. Methods The methods are valid for seeing which types of habitats alligator snapping turtles prefer to reside in. The study area had multiple depth levels and amounts of canopy coverage for the turtles to select from. There was, however, not much difference in temperature or turbidity throughout the study area, so there was not much choice available for the turtles in these departments. Another flaw in the experiment’s design is that the area in which the alligator snapping turtles were released is highly secluded and is not easily left by the turtles. Since one of the main purposes of the study is to see where and how far these creatures move on an average, limiting the boundaries of their dispersal can keep the data skewed. For example, it was stated that two of the turtles had used the entire study area, meaning they would have gone further had they been able to. The sample selection was a bit small for a population of alligator snapping turtles, as it had been reported that native Oklahoma population densities were generally about 28.3-34.2 turtles/km, while the study area contained a density of 11.8 turtles/km (Moore, et al. 2014, Pg. 30). The experimental design is sound and can be recreated. All of the information present in the methods sections seems to belong and the sequence of methods is clear. Results There are two tables present in the article. The first table is comparing the depth, temperature, turbidity, and canopy coverage chosen by the turtles with what is randomly available. It was already established that there was not any actual choice in temperature or turbidity for the turtles, so this is irrelevant information. Also present in this table is the average amount of whichever variable is being measured and the number of samples taken. Four more variables are present but are not really explained, so they are assumed to already be understood by the reader. The second table compares age and sex with linear home rang, dispersal distance, and areal home range. The number of turtles and the average distances are recorded in the table, but there are also some assumed variables present in this chart, too. The information in both tables is repeated in the text, but it is also elaborated upon. The issue is that the excess variables used in the mathematics of this study are never explained or defined to the reader, so it must be assumed that the reader already knows what these variables are. The study does revel what the researcher intended about habitat selection but does not tell much about spatial use. Discussion For the most part, the discussion simply repeats the results in a more detailed fashion. The interpretation does arrive logically from the data, but the data is simple and common. It does not seem like the results or analysis provide any new or striking information about alligator snapping turtles. This research has merely supported already established constructs and knowledge. The faults, flaws, and shortcomings of the study are discussed, but in a way that seems like the researchers were not able to overcome these issues. The discussion mentions that eight turtles with transmitters were lost to transmitter failure, fishermen, or possible predation by an American alligator. This information is mildly important and should have been covered in the results section of the article. The article also has a paragraph in the discussion section which talks about thermoregulation in turtles in regard to habitat selection. Not only has it been found in previous studies that thermoregulation is not a factor in habitat selection, this study also did not study thermoregulation in the turtles, nor did it have enough temperature variation in the study zone to acquire this type of data. This information would be better in the introduction or not in the article at all. The interpretation of data in this article is supported by other cited research and key studies in the field. This study says that its results support translocation and head-starting in future conservation efforts for the alligator snapping turtle. The study also claims to prove a need for long-term research for long-lived species in the future. Conclusion There was only one article in ProQuest that contained a citation for this article, and it was a thesis which used this study along with several others to develop their own study on alligator snapping turtles (Townsend, 2016). This seems to be the only researcher that had questions after reading this study. This researcher, along with others studying alligator snapping turtles, have come to similar conclusions about habitat selection and range. This research did not make a significant contribution to human knowledge. This research does, however, have practical applications, as it supports the use of translocation and head-starting to reestablish wild populations of alligator snapping turtles, although this was not necessarily one of the goals of this study. It seems like this was not a very fruitful study, beyond that there is not an established population of alligator snapping turtles in an area where they once thrived. References Learning Commons. (2013). Using a scientific journal article to write a critical review. University of Guelph. Retrieved from http://www.lib.uoguelph.ca/get-assistance/writing/specific-types-papers/using-scientific-journal-article-write-critical-review. Moore, D., Ligon, D., Fillmore, B., & Fox, S. (2014). Spatial Use And Selection Of Habitat In A Reintroduced Population Of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii). The Southwestern Naturalist, 59(1). Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/1652470288/fulltextPDF/BFE70F2E4B224E29PQ/47?accountid=32521. Townsend, Cody. (2016). Spatial Ecology Of Juvenile, Captive-Reared Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) In Northeastern Louisiana. University Of Louisiana At Monroe. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/docview/1799648932/72005511F71348D8PQ/1?accountid=32521. Article Critique9 Running head: Article Critique1