Monday, July 27, 2009

Terrapins face risk in their quest to nest


Terrapin #2728 After successfully completing her epic struggle
Photo courtesy of Don Lewis



WELLFLEET — Don Lewis could barely contain the admiration he felt for a female terrapin that, despite being run over by a car last week, continued to struggle inland to lay her eggs. Her shell was badly cracked on both the top and bottom. She was bleeding, dehydrated and weak after spending the night crawling toward a spot to lay her eggs on a Lieutenant Island beach.

"Despite all that, she dug a hole through compacted gravel and laid 14 eggs and took the time to cover and disguise the nest. We would have rolled over and died," said Lewis, the chief financial officer at the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay. Lewis is also licensed to recover, move and protect terrapins and their eggs and nests.

Diamondback terrapin

  • Medium-sized marsh turtle. Adult females range from 6 to 9 in. in length while males are 4 to 6 in.

  • Live in marshes bordering quiet tidal salt or brackish water areas and nest in adjacent upland sandy sites.
  • Found along the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Florida and along the Gulf coast from the Carolinas to Texas.
  • Listed as a threatened species in this state.
  • Nest twice a year in June and July.
  • Known to live 40 years.
  • Female can keep male sperm internally for up to four years.
  • The sex of the hatchlings changes depending on temperature with males developing if temperatures are below 82 degrees , and females developing above 86 degrees. A mix of males and females will develop between 82 and 86 degrees.

Source: Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife

It wasn't the only crushed turtle he's seen this year.

Scientists call it "the killing grid." As if loss of habitat and increased numbers of suburban predators weren't enough, turtles get hammered as they travel to inland nesting sites by an even tougher opponent: cars.

"It is one of the major threats for our state-listed (under the state's endangered species act) species," said Lori Erb, turtle biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.


Weather delays nesting

This summer, turtles were hit especially hard after a wet, cold June delayed nesting by a month, so that peak nesting coincided with peak summer traffic. That means more turtles getting hit as they attempt to cross roads bordering wetlands and creeks to upland nesting spots.

Normally Lewis finds one terrapin a year flattened by a car or truck. This year, he dealt with a dozen. "Turtles are like thermometers with legs," Lewis explained. Muscle activity in cold-blooded animals, like turtles, is dependent on chemical reactions that work much better in warmer temperatures.

After sleeping away six months of the fall, winter and early spring under the muck of saltwater creeks, terrapins rouse when water temperatures warm to 55 in late April. As the temperatures continue to rise, they have the energy to mate in May, develop eggs and nest in June, with the peak nesting season usually between June 20 and 25th, said Lewis.


But this June, air temperatures barely nudged out of the 50s. Turtles need 80 degrees to make the trek from marshes to upland nesting sites.

As a result, turtles of all species waited as much as a month past their normal nesting times for the sun. Unfortunately, when it did warm up, it was July 4th weekend, when other sun-loving species decided to make their annual migration to our shores.

"A lot of them were waiting and waiting. There was a bottleneck (of turtles carrying eggs), and then a burst of activity on the few nice days that came along," explained Erb.

Nests are undefended and hatchlings are easy prey for a number of predators, so survival rates are one in a thousand eggs living to become an adult. Turtles compensate for this low survival rate by living long lives and producing young over many years. Road kills hit the turtle population right where they are most vulnerable, because it is the females who tend to get run down.


Vehicles a major threat

Just how much of an impact roads have on the survivability of most species is unknown, but Erb said 30 percent of the Eastern box turtles they collect for study come from specimen that have been hit by vehicles.

Fisheries and Wildlife has created a BioMap and Living Waters Map that identifies large tracts of land, statewide, that are in need of conservation to preserve biodiversity. Erb said her agency is also working with other state and local agencies to come up with wildlife corridors, create barriers to fence turtles off from dangerous crossings, and install culverts under roads for safer passage.

But there are other threats from humans. The increasing use of stone walls to protect waterfront homes also denies turtles access to traditional nesting sites. And, as the Cape becomes more densely populated, predators like raccoons and skunks, which eat turtle eggs and hatchlings, are more numerous.

Lewis hopes to give terrapins a fighting chance by protecting nests with enclosures made of fine chicken wire fencing that are buried up to a foot deep in the sand, below the depth predators will burrow. On Lieutenant Island in Wellfleet, these pillbox enclosures dot the shoreline of what Lewis dubbed Turtle Point.





Diamondback terrapin nests on Lieutenant Island, protected by exclosures.
Cape Cod Times/Steve Heaslip



Sunday, July 26, 2009

Can turtles win the race on Cape Cod?

WELLFLEET – Don Lewis could barely contain the admiration he felt for a female terrapin turtle, who, despite being run over by a car last week, continued to struggle inland to lay her eggs. Her shell was badly cracked on both the top and bottom. She was bleeding, dehydrated and weak after spending the night crawling towards a spot to lay her eggs on a Lieutenant Island beach.

As if loss of habitat and increased numbers of suburban predators weren’t enough, turtles get hammered as they travel to inland nesting sites by an even tougher opponent – cars.

“It is one of the major threats for our state-listed (under the state’s endangered species act) species,” said Lori Erb, turtle biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

This summer, turtles got hit especially hard, after a wet and cold June delayed nesting by a month, so that peak nesting coincided with peak summer traffic. That means more turtles getting hit as they attempt to cross roads bordering wetlands and creeks to upland nesting spots.

Read the rest of this story in tomorrow's Cape Cod Times and find out if the plucky turtle survived long enough to lay her eggs.



Copyright © Cape Cod Media Group, a division of Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

State studying roads, highways with high turtle mortality


GHS
Posted Jul 26, 2009 @ 12:22 AM


On Wednesday, the patient was brought to the New England Wildlife Center in Weymouth bloody, dazed and cracked.

The eastern painted turtle, a common Massachusetts species found in or near ponds and lakes, met with a truck or car on Rte. 44 in Plymouth earlier that afternoon and a passerby scooped him up to see what could be done.

Untold numbers of turtles - some on protected species lists - are killed on Massachusetts roadways each year while looking for a place to lay their eggs, searching for food or simply getting from one place to another.

A collaborative project between the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife's Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program and MassHighway might put an end to some of the road kill.

This spring, the state began collecting information from area wildlife scientists, advocates and motorists about areas where they see high rates of turtles killed by vehicles. When possible, the species of turtle killed is logged to see if it is endangered or protected.

When the study is complete, MassHighway and the NHESP hope to have a statewide priority list of turtle road-kill hot spots. Some of those locations could see immediate improvements, including fencing or other barriers to protect the turtles, and others would be flagged for the future when construction projects in the area might allow for more expansive measures, including wildlife tunnels.

"We know already that there are a number of very low cost design implementations that make roads safer for wildlife," said Mike Jones, endangered species review biologist at the NHESP. "We are interested in having available as a resource where these problem crossing sites occur."

"These are pretty small fixes that can really provide a great benefit to the traveling public and wildlife," said Kevin Walsh, director of environmental services for MassHighway.

Walsh said turtles in the road can be hazards to drivers who try to avoid them and get into wrecks or endanger people who run into the road to help the reptiles, "beside the fact that it's killing the turtles. Even a small number of deaths can decimate a local population."

The surge of federal stimulus money to pay for transportation projects in part made the study possible.

Walsh said Jones' position at the NHESP is paid by MassHighway's budget through an interagency agreement. The stimulus money caused a significant increase in the number of transportation projects, which all need environmental review.

Jones, who works out of the MassWildlife field office in Westborough, operates independently of MassHighway but his position "helps us have them focus on our projects and identify areas where we can improve the environment while we are out there," Walsh said.

Ron McAdow, executive director of Sudbury Valley Trustees, praised the collaboration between the two state agencies.

"I applaud this very much," McAdow said. "With turtles, it's extremely important (to protect them) because they have a very slow reproductive strategy. They lay a small number of eggs and many of those eggs can be eaten by predators. The accidental death of an adult turtle really makes a big difference in the population."

According to Jones, protected species such as wood, box and Blanding's turtles are of particular concern as well as common species such as painted and snapping turtles, which are probably declining in population.

There are two ways turtles get into trouble on roads, Jones said.

Some turtles are actually looking for nesting areas on the shoulder or median. Others are crossing the road to get to nesting areas or back to water.

In areas where turtles wander on the shoulder looking for nesting sites, a simple low barrier would keep them safer. In areas where turtles are crossing roads from waterways, a culvert or tunnel under the road might be what's needed, Jones said.

Locally, roads around the Concord, Sudbury, Assabet and Nashua rivers are being targeted, though site-specific data is not complete.

This is not the first time the state has helped turtles near roads.

Two years ago, MassHighway improved fencing along Rte. 2 in Lancaster because Blanding's turtles - a threatened species in Massachusetts - were crawling under a fence and not making it across the busy highway. There are also wildlife tunnels under Rte. 2 in Concord.

According to Dr. Greg Mertz, CEO of the New England Wildlife Center, turtles most often get hit by cars in May (when females are searching for nesting sites) and late September (when hatchlings head to water), but road kills can happen at any time.

Last week, three painted turtles hit by cars had to be euthanized at the center, Mertz said. Fifty-five turtles were brought to the Wildlife Center last year.

Those that can be saved are eventually returned close to where they were found, said herpetologist Joe Martinez, director of education at the Wildlife Center.

"But if the (pond or lake) is surrounded by roads and heavy traffic, we might look for a better location," he said.

Wednesday's patient came in with a visible crack down the middle of its shell. It appeared slightly impaired neurologically and had blood stains on its underside, Mertz said, but it might be saved.

The woman who found it, Morgan Guiliano of Manomet, said she's a big fan of turtles and this was not her first road rescue.

According to staff veterinarian Dr. Maureen Murray at the wildlife clinic at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in Grafton, about 80 turtles are brought in each year. A vast majority of those were injured on the road and only half survive.

Common injuries, such as shell fractures, are fixed with orthopedic wire and the turtles are released back into the wild soon after even though the bone of the shells may take a year or more to fully heal, Murray said.

With each adult turtle killed, the effect on local populations can be devastating, Murray said, because it takes 15-20 years to reach adulthood.

"Road mortalities are really a huge threat to turtle populations," she said. "Collecting data on road crossings is really important for these turtle species. I think it's a great idea."

To report areas of where turtles are killed by vehicles, e-mail Jones at Michael.T.Jones@state.ma.us or Tim Dexter at MassHighway at Timothy.Dexter@state.ma.us. Provide directions to the site or a GPS location, as well as the number and species of turtles seen.

(Rob Haneisen can be reached at rhaneis@cnc.com or 508-626-3882.)



Source: http://www.milforddailynews.com/news/x1641097205/State-studying-roads-highways-with-high-turtle-mortality



Wednesday, July 15, 2009

TurtleUniverse.com


Jody, Colleen and Jennifer are the social entrepreneurs(a.k.a.author, a retired business woman,and dive master) behind Turtle Universe LLC. They are a 100% women owned, small business working to create a community of interest for people who like turtles and enjoy the opportunity to do something good in the world.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Turtle Day

Saturday, July 18 Noon to 2 p.m.,

Borderland State Park, off of Massapoag Avenue, Easton/Sharon line.

Children can make turtle crafts, play games and learn about protecting turtles.

Sarah Loftus will run this program as part of a Girl Scout Gold Award project.