Misery Bay Blanding’s turtle researcher awaits final field results
Misery Bay Blanding’s turtle researcher Donnell Gasbarrini says a conclusion has yet to be made in the cause of death of over 71 turtles in 2013, but the researcher says she will know more once further data is collected next month. “Things are starting to wrap up, I am aiming to have my final defence this coming August, which will be the final step in finishing the masters degree,” Ms. Gasbarrini told The Expositor earlier this week. “Similar to last winter, I have been out at Misery Bay once per month since October—I was going roughly every two weeks during the fall—and have been collecting information such as ice thickness, snow depth, dissolved oxygen content of the water, evidence of predators such as tracks in the snow, scat, trail camera photos and turtle locations. While the turtles do hibernate during the winter, Blanding’s turtles elsewhere have been known to move small distances (a few meters or so) during the winter, possibly to reach flowing water with a higher dissolved oxygen content. This data has been collected to evaluate the failed overwintering hypotheses for cause(s) of death: a) lack of sufficient oxygen in the water, b) predation during the winter months, and c) freezing).” Click the link to learn more about her research…
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Four-eyed turtle (Sacalia quadriocellata): Diet: It is omnivorous, but has a fondness for earthworms, mollusks, crustaceans, and small fish.
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Photo from Manitoulin Publishing.
