What environmental conditions generally limit the southern extent of the Wood Turtle distribution?
Answer
Increasing heat and habitat fragmentation.
The geographic spread of the Wood Turtle is determined by environmental tolerances at both extremes of its range. While cold temperatures define the northern boundary, the southern edge of their distribution is constrained by different factors. Specifically, increasing ambient heat poses physiological stress that the species cannot tolerate indefinitely. Compounding this thermal limitation is habitat fragmentation, where the loss of continuous land or necessary riparian corridors prevents successful dispersal, resource acquisition, or access to necessary seasonal retreats, thereby capping their southern reach.
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