Determining what factors influence the distribution and abundance of wildlife populations is crucial for implementing effective conservation and management actions. Yet, for species with dynamic seasonal, sex-, and age-specific spatial ecology, like the diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin; DBT), doing so can be challenging. Moreover, environmental factors that influence the distribution and abundance of DBT in their northernmost range have not been quantitatively characterized. We investigated proximity to nesting habitat as one potential driver of spatiotemporal variation in abundance in a three-step analytical approach. First, we used a scale selection Resource Selection Function (RSF) approach based on NLCD landcover data to identify the scale at which DBT are selecting for (or avoiding) landcover types to nest. Next, we used RSF to predict areas of suitable nesting habitat and created an index of nest suitability (NSI). Finally, analyzing visual count data using a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), we investigate spatiotemporal drivers of relative abundance, with a specific focus on whether similar factors affect offshore abundance and onshore nest site selection. We found the scale of selection for developed and saltmarsh land use classes to be 500 m and 525 m and coniferous, beach and open water land use classes to be 100 m. Selection was positive for nesting areas proximal to saltmarsh and beach habitat and negative for developed, coniferous and open water. Expected relative abundance was best explained by the interaction between NSI and day of season, where expected relative abundance was greater within high NSI areas during the nesting season (2.30 individuals, CI: 1.29 – 4.10) compared to areas of low NSI (1.99 individuals, CI: 1.27 – 3.13). Our results provide evidence that inferred spatial patterns of suitable nesting habitat explain spatiotemporal patterns of terrapin movement and abundance.

Adversity early in life can shape the reproductive potential of individuals through negative effects on health and lifespan. However, long-lived populations with multiple reproductive events may present alternative life history strategies to optimize reproductive schedules and compensate for shorter lifespans when experiencing adversities early in life. Here, we quantify the effects of major hurricanes and density-dependence as sources of early-life ecological adversity on the mean age-specific fertility, reproductive pace, and lifetime reproductive success (LRS) of Cayo Santiago rhesus macaque females, and explored demographic mechanisms for reproductive schedule optimization later in life. Females experiencing major hurricanes early in life exhibit a delayed reproductive debut, but maintain inter-birth intervals and show a higher mean fertility during prime reproductive ages relative to females experiencing no hurricanes. Increasing density at birth is associated to a decrease in mean fertility and LRS. When combined, our study reveals that early-life ecological adversities predict a delay-overshoot pattern in mean age-specific fertility that supports the maintenance of LRS. In contrast to predictive adaptive response models of accelerated reproduction, the long-lived Cayo Santiago population presents a novel reproductive strategy where females who experience major natural disasters early in life ultimately overcome their initial reproductive penalty with no overall negative fitness outcomes. Such strategy suggests that investing more energy into development and maintenance at younger ages allows long-lived females experiencing early-life ecological adversity to reproduce at a mean rate equivalent to that of a typical female cohort later in life.