Michael V. Plummer

Michael V. Plummer
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Michael verified their affiliation via an institutional email.
Harding University Main Campus · Biology

PhD

About

154
Publications
43,683
Reads
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2,161
Citations
Introduction
I am a retired small-college biologist who has published regularly on the natural history of turtles and snakes for the last 50 years, all without the benefit of graduate students. My approach to research has been heavily influenced by my former mentor, Henry S. Fitch.
Additional affiliations
July 1998 - August 2003
Cuenca Los Ojos Foundation
Position
  • Visiting Summer Researcher
July 1989 - October 1989
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Position
  • Visiting Researcher
February 1970 - June 2018
Harding University Main Campus
Position
  • Professor Emeritus
Description
  • Professor and two-time Dept.Chairman
Education
January 1976
University of Kansas
Field of study
  • Ecology
January 1969
Utah State University
Field of study
  • Biology

Publications

Publications (154)
Article
Full-text available
A population of rough green snakes (Opheodrys aestivus) was studied by mark-recapture at Ransom Lake (RL) in north-central Arkansas over 7 yr (1986-1992). Results are compared to those obtained previously from a population in similar habitat located 12 km distant (Bald Knob Lake, BKL). Over 2700 captures made along the RL shoreline were nonrandomly...
Article
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We monitored Spiny Softshell Turtles (Apalone spinifera) using mark-recapture during 1994–2005 in Gin Creek, Searcy, Arkansas. In 1997–2000 the creek bed and riparian zone were bulldozed in an effort to remove debris and improve water flow. This disturbance appeared to reduce the quantity and quality of turtle habitat. We tested for the potential e...
Article
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Aim: Squamate fitness is affected by body temperature, which in turn is influenced by environmental temperatures and, in many species, by exposure to solar radiation. The biophysical drivers of body temperature have been widely studied, but we lack an integrative synthesis of actual body temperatures experienced in the field, and their relationship...
Article
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Organisms whose early life stages are environmentally sensitive produce offspring within a relatively narrow range of suitable abiotic conditions. In reptiles, development rate and survival are often maximized if incubation temperatures remain under 31°C, though this upper bound may vary within and among species. We addressed this expectation by co...
Chapter
The status and conservation of the Timber Rattlesnake in Arkansas
Article
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We radiotracked eight, free-living, Red-Bellied Mudsnakes (Farancia abacura) from April to October 2019 in a bottomland hardwood forest wetland in Central Arkansas. Four snakes emerged in April from their overwintering sites in an earthen dam of a 1.2 ha pond and confined all of their movements to the pond basin. All four snakes were lost to predat...
Article
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Vast differences in available resources between habitats can have profound influences on aspects of an organism's life history, such as reproductive investment. Our study investigated how differences in nutrient availability affect sperm size in Diamond-backed Watersnakes (Nerodia rhombifer). We compared body size and sperm morphometrics between tw...
Article
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We radiotracked Red-bellied Mudsnakes (Farancia abacura) from April to October 2018 in a small isolated wetland pond in Central Arkansas, USA. Individual F. abacura were aquatic, fossorial, and moved within small, well-defined home ranges confined to the pond basin of a wetland system. Individual home ranges of radio-tracked F. abacura overlapped e...
Preprint
We describe and quantify the "push-up" behavior of overwintering softshell turtles (Apalone mutica) and test the hypothesis that the behavior has a respiratory function.
Preprint
Full-text available
We describe and quantify the "push-up" behavior of overwintering softshell turtles (Apalone mutica) and test the hypothesis that the behavior has a respiratory function.
Article
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Spermatogenesis, the production of sperm, is a fundamental part of the reproductive cycle in vertebrates and warrants detailed study. Reptiles exhibit a hybrid pattern of spermatogenesis that has similarities with both anamniotes and amniotes. Researching this interesting transition will help us better understand vertebrate evolution. To this end,...
Article
Full-text available
We studied the natural somatic growth of Apalone spinifera using mark-recapture in a population inhabiting a small urban stream for 16 y. Growth was rapid and variable in hatchlings and young juveniles, but as body size increased, growth slowed, more rapidly in males than in females. Growth in the largest turtles was slow or immeasurable. Von Berta...
Article
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We present information on movement patterns and habitat selection of the endangered Euphrates softshell turtle Rafetus euphraticus (Daudin 1802) from Karkheh Regulating Dam Lake in southwestern Iran. Twelve adult turtles were trapped, fitted with radio-tracking transmitters, and relocated 21 to 51 times between May 2011 and July 2012. The mean line...
Article
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I radiotracked Desert Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata luteola) captured at a stock tank in desert grassland habitat in southeastern Arizona from 2001-2003. Individual turtles lived in well-defined 95% MCP home ranges, which included the stock tank and overlapped with home ranges of other turtles. Turtles moved 135 m daily in home ranges averaging 9.8...
Article
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We report on a Euphrates softshell turtle (Rafetus euphraticus) nest and hatchlings that emerged from the nest that was constructed in a sand patch of the Dez River in southwestern Iran and discovered on 8 July 2012. Information on nest location and structure and hatchling morphology is presented.
Article
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We examined the histology, histochemistry, and ultrastructure of Rathke's glands in hatchlings of the three-toed box turtle, Terrapene carolina triunguis, and the desert box turtle, Terrapene ornata luteola. Both species possess one pair (axillary) of Rathke's glands, which are similar anatomically and histochemically to one another. Each gland is...
Article
Full-text available
We report on a Euphrates softshell turtle (Rafetus euphraticus) nest and hatchlings that emerged from the nest that was constructed in a sand patch of the Dez River in southwestern Iran and discovered on 8 July 2012. Information on nest location and structure and hatchling morphology is presented.
Article
Full-text available
Twenty-one adult rough green snakes Opheodrys aestivus (Ophidia: Colubridae) were collected during 2010 and 2012 from Montgomery (n = 1) and White (n = 20) counties, Arkansas, U.S.A., and examined for helminths. A single O. aestivus (5%) harbored a massive infection of Mesocestoides sp. This represents a new host record for Mesocestoides sp., and 1...
Article
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We used radiotelemetry to assess the diet of Sternotherus odoratus in Gin Creek, Arkansas, USA. Gin Creek is a small, frequently disturbed, urban stream in which the invasive Asiatic Clam, Corbicula fluminea, has attained high densities. Turtles foraged in small, well-defined home ranges within which we sampled the substrate for potential food item...
Article
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We examined functions of residual yolk (RY) in hatchling Smooth Softshell Turtles (Apalone mutica). Removal of RY did not affect survival, shell growth, or resting metabolic rates of turtles for 40 d after hatching. Our estimates of metabolic rate suggest that RY can fuel maintenance and activity metabolism for approximately 25 days. A. mutica abso...
Article
Full-text available
Body temperatures (Tb) of eight free-ranging Heterodon platirhinos were measured with radiotelemetry throughout the year. Body temperature ranged from 5–37°C and varied with air temperature and activity. During the active season, Tb of active snakes (30.5°C) averaged about 3°C higher than that of inactive snakes (27.4°C). Body temperature did not d...
Article
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Lampropeltis getula is a species of conservation concern in several parts of its wide geographic range. I describe habitat use and movement patterns of L. getula holbrooki in an agricultural landscape, a portion of which has been brought out of agriculture and reforested. Both sexes strongly preferred vegetated shrubby levee habitats, and avoided a...
Article
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Article
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Although Rathke's glands are thought to be homologous among Testudines, we know little about the gland structure in many turtle lineages, including the trionychid softshells. We describe the macro, micro, and ultrastructural anatomy of Rathke's glands in the softshell turtles Apalone mutica and A. spinifera. Rathke's glands of both species are stru...
Chapter
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Article
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Smooth Softshell Turtles, Apalone mutica, prefer medium to large rivers with clean sand where they spend substantial amounts of time buried in the bottom sand substrate; however, the habitat requirements of hatchling A. mutica are poorly known. We designed a laboratory experiment to determine whether the presence of an underwater sand substrate aff...
Chapter
Full-text available
We studied a population of softshell turtles (Apalone spinifera) in a small urban spring-fed stream (Gin Creek) over a 10-yr period, including before and after a period of major habitat alteration. During habitat alteration (1997-2000), the stream was extensively channelized and the bank cleared of vegetation. Habitat alteration moderately decrease...
Article
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Posthatching yolk in oviparous vertebrates is thought to supply the hatchling with energy for a period of time after hatching in habitats that might require fasting. To examine strategies of posthatching energy use in Apalone mutica, hatchlings were fed or not fed over periods of nine weeks in 2003 and six weeks in 2004. Mass, plastron length, cara...
Article
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I collected eggs from natural nests of Apalone mutica and reburied them in artificial nests constructed in a largeoutdoor enclosure. Toward the end of a known incubation period, nests were videotaped continuously until hatchlingsemerged. Most hatchlings emerged within a short period during a single day. Individuals emerged quickly and singly andmai...
Article
Full-text available
I collected eggs from natural nests of Apalone mutica and reburied them in artificial nests constructed in a large outdoor enclosure. Toward the end of a known incubation period, nests were videotaped continuously until hatchlings emerged. Most hatchlings emerged within a short period during a single day. Individuals emerged quickly and singly and...
Article
Full-text available
At its southwestern range limit in southeastern Arizona, the Desert Box Turtle Terrapene ornata luteola, takes refuge in subterranean mammal burrows, primarily those of the Kangaroo Rat Dipodomys spectabilis, from November through June. I inferred temporal and physiological characteristics of turtles in burrows from temperatures collected with mini...
Article
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At the extreme southwestern part of its range in southeastern Arizona, annual surface activity of the Desert Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata luteola) is limited primarily to the three-month summer monsoon. Turtles emerging at the beginning of the monsoon are severely dehydrated. We examined the effects of dehydration on the critical thermal maximum (C...
Article
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The smooth softshell Apalone mutica is a North American trionychid turtle typically found in moderate to fast moving rivers and streams. Such habitats contrast with more resource rich environments (e.g., marshes and swamps) inhabited by other turtle species for which parental investment and egg and hatchling components have been studied. We measure...
Article
Full-text available
Activity and thermal ecology of Terrapene ornata luteola were studied in southeastern Arizona, near the extreme southwestern range limit for T. ornata, using a combination of radiotransmitters and temperature data loggers attached to individual turtles. Surface activity was greatly affected by rainfall and operative temperatures both seasonally and...
Article
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Article
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Movements and survivorship of eight resident and eight translocated adult Heterodon platirhinoswere monitored daily with radiotelemetry during the activity seasons (15 April-15 October) of 1992 to 1994 in upland open forest habitat. Hognose snakes were diurnally active and used a variety of open and edge microhabitats with grassy or leafy groundcov...
Article
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The documented costs of reproduction in reptiles include possible decreased survival re- sulting from behavioral and physiological changes associated with reproduction (Shine, 1980). For example, if escaping from predators depends on a snake's speed or endurance, then reduced locomotor performance of females car- rying eggs or embryos could increas...
Article
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A combination of temperature-sensitive radiotelemetry and doubly labeled water was used to determine daily activity periods, thermal profiles, water flux rates, and field metabolic rates (FMR) of free-ranging racers (Coluber constrictor) in a temperate mesic habitat during summer. Results were compared to published values on the closely related, ec...