Population Structure and Biomass of Stinkpot 
49 
SHORELINE 
= FOOTPATH 
SWAMPY OROUNO OR EMEROENT VEGETATION 
^ BUSHES 
SAND 
INTERMITTENT STREAM 
• WOODEN POST 
■ METAL POST 
LOQ 
TRAP LOCATION 
10 M 
Fig. 1. Map of the study site, Brushy Creek Lake, Winston County, Alabama. 
= ax b , in the form log y = log a + b(log x), by the method of least 
squares regression analysis. Other analyses used the Mest, X 2 test of 
independence, and 2-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with adjust- 
ments for unequal sample size. Statistical analyses were carried out 
using the SAS program for microcomputers (SAS Institute Inc. 1985). 
For all analyses, P < 0.05 was considered indicative of statistical 
significance. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
Population Density. A total of 135 individual S. odoratus were 
captured during 813 trap-hours. There were 26 recaptures for a total of 
161 captures, or one turtle per 5.05 trap-hours. Unfortunately, 41 
turtles, including five previously marked animals, drowned on 3 June 
when water temperatures reached 32° C in the shallows. Such mortality 
precluded a statistically rigorous estimate of the population size. 
It is possible, however, to derive an estimate of the population 
density of S. odoratus in Brushy Creek Lake if one assumes the 
minimum number of turtles caught represents a minimum population 
size within the study area and that immigration balances emigration. As 
such, 135 stinkpots were caught in the study area, yielding an estimate 
