Can box turtles help control invasive fruiting plants?
Skrip M and Gottschalk Druschke C. 2015. Can box turtles help control invasive fruiting plants?
A study at the William Floyd Estate at Fire Island National Seashore will reveal how the abundant box turtles at this important historic site help or hinder the germination and establishment of fruiting plants. Native plants that evolved alongside the box turtle may therefore receive a substantial boost when their seeds pass through this animal’s gut. Nonnative species that did not evolve with the box turtle, meanwhile, might benefit less, perhaps by being chemically processed too much as the turtle digests.