HERPETOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Vol. 9, pp. 15-20 (1999)
MEASUREMENT OF TIME BUDGETS FROM CONTINUOUS OBSERVATION OF THREAD-TRAILED TORTOISES (KINIXYS SPEKII)
ADRIAN HAILEY1 AND IAN M. COULSON2*
1
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, P.O.Box MP167, Mount Pleasant, Harare, Zimbabwe2
Sengwa Wildlife Research Institute, Department of National Parks and Wildlife Management, Private Bag 6002, Gokwe, Zimbabwe* Deceased
Five thread-trailed hingeback tortoises (Kinixys spekii) were observed continuously for a total of 260 hr on four hot days (at intervals of 1-2 weeks) in the rainy season. Activity occurred in all hours from 06.00-19.00 hr; the population daily activity period was 13 hr. The daily duration of surface activity of individuals was on average 8.2 hr day-1 between first and last daily movement. The daily time budget included 1.95 hr locomotion, 0.86 hr feeding, and 5.2 hr stationary above ground (including long periods in indistinct surface refuges). There were no significant differences in total activity between individual tortoises or study days. Combining the daily activity period of the population and data from single sightings would greatly overestimate the amount of time spent active; observations over complete days are necessary for a true time budget. Increasing the number of days of observation of each individual decreased the variability of the data only slightly.
Key words: Kinixys, tortoise, time budget, activity pattern