Canadian researchers put secretive turtle on risk radar
The eastern musk turtle is easily overlooked. It basks in vegetation near the water’s surface.
That makes it hard to see.
Unfortunately for the turtles, this also means they are easily overlooked for protection.
A recent study by Canada’s McMaster University sheds new light on the status and protection needs of this secretive species in Lake Huron’s Georgian Bay.
The main threats to the turtles are recreational boating, development and loss of shoreline habitat and fisheries by-catch, according to the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada.
The study concluded that development and habitat loss are among the main threats in the Georgian Bay area. Eastern musk turtles are more likely to occupy coastal wetlands with greater amounts of forest cover and lower densities of docks, cottages and roads, the study concluded.
“Anthropogenic influences, specifically shoreline modifications, have a very negative influence on the turtles,” said, Julia Rutledge, co-author of the study.
“Regulating that type of development within a certain range of the wetlands would have a positive influence on the longevity of the species.”
The turtle is limited to eastern North America, from Florida to southern Ontario. Its range includes parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Click the link to read more…
Turtle News From Around the World
Conservation
BIOT:- Satellite tagging hawksbill turtles in Diego Garcia
Ecology
Australia:- Loggerhead turtle dies on banks of Wallis Lake, Coomba
Education
Loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta density and abundance in Chesapeake Bay and the temperate ocean waters of the southern portion of the Mid-Atlantic Bight
Biphasic allometric growth in juvenile green turtles Chelonia mydas
Surfacers change their dive tactics depending on the aim of the dive: evidence from simultaneous measurements of breaths and energy expenditure
Health & Medical
USA:- Oregon State Police troopers rescue stranded sea turtle
Miscellany
NewZealand:-12 days of SPCA Christmas pets: Meet Mrs T, the turtle from Whanganui
Question or Concerns? Want to submit an article to get posted? Email us at [email protected].
Photo from Julia Rutledge.
