Florida Box Turtle (Terrapene bauri)

The 18 to 59 cm sea level rise projected to occur over the coming century by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is expected to have major effects on the coastal habitats of Florida, altering habitat availability, community structure, and species diversity. The average expected sea level rise would result in an 80% loss of dry land in the Ten Thousand Islands region, threatening wildlife throughout this unusual system. In 2006, we began a long-term study of Florida box turtles (Terrapene bauri) in the Ten Thousand Islands.