Georgia’s official state reptile, the gopher tortoise, is one of those creatures that biologists call a “keystone species.” Such a species exerts considerable influence over the vitality of its entire ecosystem and the other organisms that live there.
In the gopher tortoise’s case, it digs deep, tunnel-like burrows as much as 45 feet long in the sandy soils of South Georgia for shelter and nesting sites.
More than 300 other species — including the endangered indigo snake, diamondback rattlesnake, gopher frog and scores of invertebrate species — also may depend on the burrows as hiding places from predators, shelter from severe weather and protection from wildfires.
But the gopher tortoise itself is in trouble. The only terrestrial tortoise east of the Mississippi River, its populations are in steep decline, mostly because of the loss and degradation of its sandy habitats. In Georgia, the creature is listed as threatened and is also a candidate for the federal endangered species list. Studies indicate that few tortoises remain outside the state’s protected areas, such as wildlife management areas.
The gopher tortoise is an icon species of the longleaf pine and wiregrass ecosystem that once covered the bottom half of Georgia. It was mostly an open-canopied forest that allowed abundant sunlight penetration and conditions favorable for a rich growth of herbaceous vegetation, the gopher tortoise’s preferred food. Unfortunately, very little of this great ecosystem still exists, converted mostly to agriculture, pine plantations and housing. The newest threat is sprawling solar farms slated to be built on prime tortoise habitat in South Georgia.
Meanwhile, Georgia Department of Natural Resources biologists have been trying to build up gopher tortoise populations in remaining suitable habitat. Earlier this month, biologists released 153 juvenile tortoises — raised in special breeding projects — onto the 7,800-acre Yuchi Wildlife Management Area in Burke County.
In the sky: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Center astronomer: The moon will be full Wednesday — the "Ripe Corn Moon," as the Cherokee peoples called July's full moon. Mercury is low in the east just before dawn. Look for the bright planets Venus and Jupiter to appear close together in the west just after dark. They set a few hours later. Saturn is in the southeast at dusk and appears near the moon Sunday night.
