Fidelity to nesting area of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758)

During a 16-year study (1987-2002) in the Borowiec Nature Reserve (central Poland), 118 nest sites of the turtle Emys orbicularis were marked : 115 nest sites of 23 different known females and 3 nest sites of unknown females. For seven females, 8 to 12 nest sites per individual are known from the studied period. For ten other females, 3 to 6 nest sites per individual are known. Two turtles presented long-term (> 10 years) fidelity to the nesting area (defined arbitrary as : distances between nest sites were 20 m or less), and several other individuals did so for shorter periods (2-4 years consecutively). Other females did not display such behaviour. Thus, female turtles differed in their fidelity to the nesting area in the studied population.