| Studies on population structure of freshwater turtles belonging to the family Chelidae are scarce in Brazil. Herein we describe the structure of a population of the chelid Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei in a Cerrado area in the municipality of Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, Brazil. A total of 80 individuals were captured in five collecting sites, from January to March 2007: 42 adult females, 27 adult males, and 11 juveniles with undetermined sex. Among 80 individuals, 24% were recaptured, at least once. This is the first attempt to estimate the size of a population of Mesoclemmys vanderhaegei. Our results suggest that additional sampling efforts are needed for more accurate estimates of population structure. Nevertheless, they surely provide minimum values... |
