Predicting Habitat Suitability of the State Threatened Texas Tortoise, Gopherus berlandieri, in Texas, USA, to Inform Conservation Management Strategies

The Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri) has a small geographic range in the USA and faces threats from habitat loss and alteration. Despite being a Texas state threatened reptile, it is surprisingly understudied. We conducted extensive road cruising surveys focused on the eastern part of the Texas tortoise range, but only seven Texas tortoises were observed. Limitations to our study included inaccessible large private landholdings with potential tortoise habitat. Georeferenced tortoise locations, along with museum records, were compiled from online databases and used to model habitat suitability with Maxent. The model predicted relatively small patches of suitable habitat in the eastern region, while the largest extent of suitable habitat was detected in the western region and far south Texas, as well as some patches outside the historical range. This spatial analysis redirects conservation efforts toward highly suitable habitat patches at risk of fragmentation and alteration in Texas. Future monitoring will improve our understanding of ongoing and increasing disturbances in the region and aid in the protection of this imperiled species in the US.