The effect of myiasis on Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) body condition, movement, and habitat use at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts

In 2020, natural resource managers at Camp Edwards, Barnstable County, MA, observed Terrapene carolina carolina (Eastern Box Turtle) individuals infected by myiasis, where parasitic flesh flies larviposit into the living tissue of a host. The hypothesized parasite was Dexosarcophaga cistudinis, but its impacts on the host's body condition, movement, and habitat use were unknown. Our objectives were to identify the parasite at Camp Edwards and to compare the body condition, movement, and habitat characteristics at capture locations of Eastern Box Turtles for infected and noninfected individuals. We radio-tracked turtles weekly and encountered 48 individuals from May to August 2022 at Camp Edwards, MA. Upon capture, we recorded turtle infection status, mass, carapace length, shell surface temperature, GPS location, and habitat characteristics of the capture location. We confirmed D. cistudinis as the parasite and found that myiasis-infected turtles had a significantly higher shell temperature (27.92 ± 5.28 °C) than noninfected turtles (26.77 ± 5.64 °C). However, we did not find an effect of myiasis on body condition, habitat use, or average daily distance moved. Collectively, our results suggest that infected turtles may exhibit behavioral fever, a mechanism by which ectotherms move to warmer microclimates to raise their body temperature in response to infections. Eastern Box Turtles at Camp Edwards may be able to use behavioral fever in response to myiasis infection because of the habitat mosaic made available through detailed habitat-management regimes.