OpportunityTitle: BLM CA AUGMENTING NATURAL DESERT TORTOISE POPULATION FERTILE ADULTS
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: APPLICANTS MUST BE A PARTNER WITH THE DESERT SOUTHWEST COOPERATIVE ECOSYSTEM STUDIES UNIT
Description: (1) to develop methods to speed the growth of hatchery-raised tortoises (mainly by extending food availability through irrigation of native plants within the pens used to protect the juveniles from predators), and to document the size and age at which hatchery-raised tortoises reach sexual maturity, (2) to determine whether generating hatchlings in hatcheries affects their gender (tortoise gender is determined by nest temperature and nesting inside hatchery pens may skew sex ratios one way or the other), and (3) to use hatchery-raised tortoises as a source of juveniles to restock areas depleted of wild desert tortoises, and to augment existing populations.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: tthaler@blm.gov
GrantorContactText: Traci D Thaler, Grants and Agreements Specialist, 916-978-4529&lt;br/&gt;tthaler@blm.gov&lt;br/&gt;