The ornate box turtle, _Terrapene o. ornata_ Agassiz, was studied more
or less continuously from September, 1953, until July, 1957. Intensive
field studies were made of free-living, marked populations in two
small areas of Douglas County, Kansas, in the period 1954 to 1956.
Laboratory studies were made, whenever possible, of phenomena
difficult to observe in the field, or to clarify or substantiate field
observations. Certain phases of the work (for example, studies of
populations and movements) were based almost entirely on field
observation whereas other phases (for example, growth and gametogenic
cycles) were carried out almost entirely within the laboratory on
specimens obtained from eastern Kansas and other localities.
A taxonomic revision of the genus _Terrapene_ was begun in 1956 as an
outgrowth of the present study. The systematic status of _T. ornata_
and other species is here discussed only briefly.
Objectives of the study here reported on were: 1) to learn as much as
possible concerning the habits, adaptations, and life history of _T.
o. ornata_; 2) to compare the information thus acquired with
corresponding information on other emyid and testudinid chelonians,
and especially with that on other species and subspecies of
_Terrapene_; 3) to determine what factors limit the geographic
distribution of ornate box turtles; and, 4) to determine the role of
ornate box turtles in an ecological community.