Raccoon abundance indexing and removal: implications for Blanding’s turtle nest success

Context

Elevated mesopredator populations can pose a threat to species of conservation concern.

Aims

We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of raccoon removal on their abundance and on Blanding’s turtle nest success.

Methods

We used an index of raccoon abundance generated from camera-trap data and information on the success of Blanding’s turtle nests to compare adjacent control and raccoon-removal sites.

Key results

Raccoon detections were more frequent and abundance index values were higher at control sites than at the removal site. However, Blanding’s turtle nest success did not differ between control and removal sites, likely because of differences in nest location and camera proximity.

Conclusions

The efficacy of raccoon removal for Blanding’s turtle conservation may vary with nest habitat characteristics and can benefit from a priori knowledge of nesting areas.

Implications

Mesopredator removal can be beneficial to species of conservation concern, provided it occurs in areas of greatest impact.