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Jeff Lovich 
radio transmitters. The plastron lengths of the turtles were 93 mm and 
99 mm, respectively. A transmitter was attached to the posterior portion 
of each carapace and accounted for 10% or less of the animal’s mass. 
The turtles were released at the respective points of capture on 6 March 
and located daily until 15 April. From 15 to 23 April, positions were 
determined every 48 hours. Both turtles were periodically brought back 
to the laboratory during the study period for battery replacement or 
transmitter-package repair. In spite of the downtime, 35 observations of 
movement were obtained for each turtle. Every attempt was made to 
minimize disturbance to the turtles during tracking. After each turtle 
was located, the straight-line distance to the previous point of capture 
was measured with a meter tape or determined from aerial photographs. 
A summary of major movement patterns is shown in Fig. 1. 
Movements in 24 hours ranged from 0 to 423 m. Twenty-two percent of 
all daily changes in location were greater than 100 m. Rates of movement 
reached 20.7 m/hour with a mean of 2.7 m/hour. The distances moved 
between captures did not differ significantly between the two turtles 
(Mann-Whitney U = 617; df = 1; P = 0.80). ACJ moved a total of 
2,750 m and ACI 1,843 m. The greatest straight-line distance achieved 
from original point of capture was more than 1,000 m for each turtle. 
During these movements, each animal occupied three separate aquatic 
habitats (marshes and ponds) (Fig. 1). Known time spent in each habitat 
ranged from 4 to 20 days. The typical activity pattern involved a series 
of movements through an aquatic habitat followed by overland 
movements (up to 2 days) to the next nearest body of water. Return by 
an individual to a previously occupied aquatic habitat was observed 
only once. 
Detailed descriptions of short-term movements have not previously 
been reported for this species. However, Ernst (1968) found that a small 
proportion of C. guttata in a Pennsylvania population returned to the 
original point of capture 4 to 64 days after being moved 805 m upstream 
from his study site. Netting (1936) reported movement of C. guttata 
from an upland hibernation site to a small swamp, but provided no 
further data. Ernst (1976) found that normal daily movements (based on 
hand recaptures) were rarely more than 20 m, but males were occasionally 
captured up to 250 m from water during the mating season. Seasonal 
microhabitat selection was reported by Ward et al. (1976), but daily 
movement data were not provided. The results of the present study, 
although provisional, suggest transient behavior (as defined by Kiester 
et al. 1982, Parker 1984) as well as oriented long-distance movement in 
male C. guttata. Because these movements occurred during the mating 
season (Ernst 1976), they may be a reflection of mate-search activity, as 
suggested by Morreale et al. (1984). It is not likely that these short-term 
