Esque, T.C. Nussear, K.E. Medica, P.A. Mitchell, C.I. 20211001 Comma Separated Values File (CSV) Denver, CO U.S. Geological Survey data release https://doi.org/10.5066/P97WD6AH Corey I. Mitchell Derek A. Friend Lauren T. Phillips Elizabeth A. Hunter Jeffrey E. Lovich Mickey Agha Shellie R. Puffer Kristy L. Cummings Philip A. Medica Todd C. Esque Kenneth E. Nussear Kevin T. Shoemaker 20210311 Publication Endangered Species Research Volume 44 n/a Inter-Research Science Center ppg. 217-230 https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01103 These data were acquired from 7 study sites distributed across the range of Gopherus agassizii. Data were collected from 1997 to 2002 as part of three separate studies, although data were not collected at all sites in each year. Radio-transmitters were attached to the carapace of 151 females and VHF radio-telemetry was used to relocate animals to assess reproductive status. Egg production was determined from X-radiographs taken weekly/biweekly intervals (depending on the study) using a portable X-ray machine between April and July or August of each year. In addition, the mean carapace length (MCL) of each tortoise was measured at each time of capture or recapture using calipers (mm). A nesting event was recorded if a female previously observed with eggs was observed without eggs during a subsequent X-ray session. The purpose of these data are to provide a better understanding of the environmental and individual-level variables affecting reproductive output of the Mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Data from 3 separate studies, across 7 study sites, were assembled in order to build a range-wide predictive model of reproductive output as a function of climate variation and individual-level attributes. 1997 2002 ground condition Complete None planned Eastern and northeastern Mojave, and Colorado Desert -116.7847 -112.8955 37.9788 32.0640 ISO 19115 Topic Category biota USGS Thesaurus ecology reptiles climate change ecosystem functions field inventory and monitoring wildlife climate change wildlife biology USGS Biocomplexity Thesaurus biological production body size climatic variability clutch size eggs environmental effects radiography reproduction reproductive status reptiles size tortoises None Mojave desert tortoise climatic variation environmental variables Gopherus agassizii reproductive output total annual egg production X-radiography USGS Metadata Identifier USGS:6112bf2fd34ed11898f70454 Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Utah Mojave National Preserve Mojave Desert Lake Mead National Recreation Area Nevada California None Area 31 Sandstone Mountain Bird Spring Valley Redcliffs Pahcoon Flat Piute Valley USGS Biocomplexity Thesaurus Reptiles Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) 2020 ONLINE_REFERENCE Washington, D.C. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) http://itis.gov Todd C Esque U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Research Ecologist mailing and physical

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Boulder City NV 89005 US 702-564-4506 tesque@usgs.gov Kenneth E Nussear Department of Geography, University of Nevada, Reno Assistant Professor mailing and physical

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Reno NV 89557 US 775-784-6612 knussear@unr.edu expert advice The only species of tortoise that naturally ranges throughout each of the 12 study sites is the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Data refers only to the Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Tetrapoda Class Reptilia Order Testudines Suborder Cryptodira Superfamily Testudinoidea Family Testudinidae Genus Gopherus Species Gopherus agassizii Desert Tortoise Mohave Desert Tortoise Agassiz's Desert Tortoise Mojave Desert Tortoise TSN: 173856 None. Please see 'Distribution Info' for details. None. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations. U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Data Manager mailing and physical

3020 State University Drive, Modoc Hall, Suite 4004

Sacramento CA 95819 US 916-278-9483 gs-b-werc_data_management@usgs.gov We would like to thank the countless field technicians that contributed toward the data analyzed here, without them none of this research would have been possible. Dustin Haines, Mary Saethre, Kristin Murphy, Alan Green, Ron Marlow, Kathie Meyer-Wilkins, Ramona Daniels, Curt Bjurlin, and Sheila Madrak, were especially integral to field efforts, and we thank them. This work was partially supported by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP RC18-1103 and RC18-1207), Clark County Desert Conservation Program, the National Fish and Wildlife foundation, the USGS, BLM, the California Energy Commission, and FWS. We are saddened to have lost Phil Medica and Ron Marlow this year, their contributions toward this work, and toward the conservation of desert tortoises is immeasurable. They are dearly missed. No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted Data set is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details. No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted No formal positional accuracy tests were conducted Field Desert tortoise annual egg production data were acquired from 7 study sites distributed across the range of the species. Data were collected from 1997 to 2002 (from three separate sources), although data were not collected at all sites in each year. In all studies used in our analyses, radio-transmitters were attached to the carapace of females and VHF radio-telemetry was used to relocate animals to assess reproductive status. Egg production was determined from X-radiographs taken at mostly weekly or biweekly intervals (depending on the study) using a portable X-ray machine between April and July or August of each year. In addition, tortoises mean carapace lengths (MCL) were measured using calipers (mm). A nesting event was recorded if a female previously observed with eggs was observed without eggs during a subsequent X-ray session. Jeffrey E. Lovich Joshua R. Ennen Charles B. Yackulic Kathie Meyer-Wilkins Mickey Agha Caleb Loughran Curtis Bjurlin Meaghan Austin Sheila Madrak 20150424 Publication Biological Journal of the Linnean Society Volume 115, Issue 2 n/a Oxford University Press (OUP) pp. 399-410 https://doi.org/10.1111/bij.12505 Ken E. Nussear C. Richard Tracy Phil A. Medica Dawn S. Wilson Ronald W. Marlow Paul S. Corn 20120420 Publication The Journal of Wildlife Management Volume 76, Issue 7 n/a Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.390 Ken E. Nussear C. Richard Tracy Phil A. Medica Dawn S. Wilson Ronald W. Marlow Paul S. Corn 20120420 Publication The Journal of Wildlife Management Volume 76, Issue 7 n/a Wiley https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.390 Digital 19970401 20020831 Ground condition/ observation Sites: Area 31, BSV, LM, PAH, SSM Dataset used the support the conclusions from the cited paper were added to a larger more comprehensive database. The dataset was created by combining data sets from three separate studies and combining them into a single database. 2020 The Area 31, Redcliffs, and Sandstone Mountain sites were located in the Red Cliffs Reserve in Washington County, Utah. These sites fell within the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit. Elevation at these sites ranged from 840 to 1220 meters and vegetation was characterized as Mojave Desert scrub. The Barrow site was located on National Park Service Lands within the Pinto Basin area of Joshua Tree National Park. This site was characterized as Sonoran Desert scrub and had relatively uniform topography with elevations ranging from 654 to 718 meters. The Barrow site fell within the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit. The Bird Spring Valley site was located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands within the Eastern Mojave Recovery Unit approximately 21 km southwest of Las Vegas, NV. This site covered an extensive bajada with elevations ranging from 900 to 1300 meters and was characterized as Mojave Desert scrub. The Lake Mead site was located on National Park Service Lands on a peninsula extending into the northern end of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near the town of Overton, Nevada. Vegetation at this site was Mojave Desert scrub. This site fell within the Northeastern Mojave Recovery Unit and elevation ranged from approximately 200 to 600 meters. The Pahcoon Flats site was located on BLM lands to the west of St. George, Utah and was located in the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit. This site was characterized as Great Basin conifer woodland and elevations ranged from 1350 to 2000 meters. The Piute Valley site was located on BLM land within the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit and was approximately 90 km from Las Vegas, Nevada. This site was characterized as Mojave Desert scrub and elevation was approximately 926 meters. In all studies used in our analyses, radio-transmitters were attached to the carapace of females and VHF radio-telemetry was used to relocate animals to assess reproductive status. tortoise_egg_data_otherUSGSsites.CSV This spreadsheet includes reproductive fecundity data (reproductive status and egg production) as well as a size measurement (MCL) for 214 individual Gopher Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) from 12 sites. This data ranges from 1997-2018. Some tortoises were revisited and therefore have multiple measurements, while some were only recorded in a single event. Producer defined Site Name of the study site where tortoises were monitored. Producer defined Area 31 The Area 31site was located in the Red Cliffs Reserve in Washington County, Utah. These sites fell within the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit. Producer-defined SSM The Sandstone Mountain site was located in the Red Cliffs Reserve in Washington County, Utah. These sites fell within the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit. Producer-defined BSV The Bird Spring Valley site was located on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands within the Eastern Mojave Recovery Unit approximately 21 km southwest of Las Vegas, NV. Producer-defined Redcliffs The Redcliffs site was located in the Red Cliffs Reserve in Washington County, Utah. These sites fell within the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit. Producer-defined LM The Lake Mead site was located on National Park Service Lands on a peninsula extending into the northern end of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near the town of Overton, Nevada. Producer-defined PV The Piute Valley site was located on BLM land within the Colorado Desert Recovery Unit and was approximately 90 km from Las Vegas, Nevada. Producer-defined PAH The Pahcoon Flats site was located on BLM lands to the west of St. George, Utah and was located in the Upper Virgin River Recovery Unit Producer-defined Tort An unique identification number given to each Mojave Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) used in the study. Producer defined Unique registered identifications numbers were given to each tortoise, the marking techniques and ID numbering systems varied by study. Please refer to each individual study for further details. Year The year the tortoise was observed or monitored, and data were recorded. Producer defined 1997 2002 YYYY ReproStatus A binary representation of the reproductive status of an individual female Mojave Desert Tortoise for a single reproductive season, indicating whether or not eggs were observed via a series of X-radiographs, and therefore if reproduction had taken place. Producer Defined 0 There was no detection of shelled eggs on a series of X-radiographs, therefore reproduction was listed as not observed. Producer-defined 1 There was the detection of one or more shelled eggs on a series of X-radiographs, therefore reproduction was listed as having occured. Producer-defined MCL (mm) Straight-line mid-line carapace length in millimeters. Producer defined 180 289 millimeter TE The total number of shelled eggs a tortoise is carrying, based on a series X-radiograph images. Producer defined 0 17 number of eggs observed U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase U.S. Geological Survey mailing and physical

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Denver CO 80225 United States 1-888-275-8747 sciencebase@usgs.gov The author(s) of these data request that data users contact them regarding intended use and to assist with understanding limitations and interpretation. Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Digital Data https://doi.org/10.5066/P97WD6AH None 20211001 Gabrielle A Berry U.S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center Biological Science Technician mailing and physical

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Boulder City NV 89005 US 610-715-0194 gberry@usgs.gov FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata FGDC-STD-001.1-1999