PARENT SESSION
Tuesday, August 8, 5:00-6:30 pm
Poster Session 8 - Aquatic ecology
Exhibit Hall, Ballroom Level, Cook Convention Center
The demography, nesting status, and movement patterns of snapping turtles, (Chelydra serpentina) in Merrymeeting Bay.
Van Hook, Lucy*,1, Reblin, Jaret 1, Lichter, John1, 1 Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME
ABSTRACT- Turtles once proliferated across the earth. Partially due to human consumption, current turtle populations are declining globally. Maintaining turtle populations has become a point of concern in most wetland areas due to their vulnerability to overexploitation and extirpation. To determine the status of a localized Maine population of nesting snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina ), female turtles were observed, captured, measured and marked during the nesting season of June 2005. Within Merrymeeting Bay, female turtles traveled between 1.2 and 5.5 km to nest. Merrymeeting Bay is a unique freshwater tidal ecosystem located in Mid-coast Maine. In the current literature, the influence of a tidal system on aquatic turtles is unknown. To determine how snapping turtles of Merrymeeting Bay move throughout the tidal cycles, radio transmitters were attached to the carapace of two male and three female turtles (2004) and six female turtles (2005). The turtles were tracked throughout the summer and fall to map their movement patterns and monitor activity during tidal fluctuations. The turtles travel further distances when the tidal flats are flooded (p<0.05, t-test). At low tide, the turtles bury themselves in the mud or travel to the river channels, presumably to avoid desiccation stress. Each turtle inhabits a distinct activity zone on the mudflat. They spend significantly more time in mudflat habitat compared to time spent in the river channel and tidal creeks (p<0.001, ANOVA). Towards the end of October, there was a distinct shift in habitat use from the intertidal mudflats to a forested wetland habitat where the turtles remained through the winter.
Key words: Chelydra serpentina, movement patterns, freshwater intertidal habitat