Originally published in Seven Mile Times' Momorial Day issue, 5/19/2015
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In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, ...
DIAMONDBACK TERRAPINS NEED OUR HELP,
And We Need Theirs By Dr. Lenore Tedesco of The Wetlands Institute
A child holds a terrapin
A terrapin blocked by fence installation
I
f you frequent Seven Mile Beach, undoubtedly you have come in contact with our local salt-marsh turtles. If you see a diamondback terrapin on land, it is a female. Only females are found on land because they are looking for a place to lay their eggs. Male terrapins never leave their marsh habitat. Diamondback terrapins are unique in that they are the only turtles that live their entire lives in coastal salt marshes. They are more closely related to freshwater turtles than to sea turtles, and have unique adaptations for life in the back-bay waters. You can find diamondback terrapins from Maine to the Gulf Coast, but their populations are in decline across their range. Major threats to terrapins include commercial collection for food and pets, habitat destruction, drowning in fishing gear, and road mortality. Diamondback terrapins are a keystone species of the marsh. They are meat-eaters, and one of their primary food sources is the marsh periwinkle snail. These snails feed on marsh grasses, and without healthy populations of terrapins to control snail populations, large sections of the marsh would be stripped of vegetation and lost – thus robbing our coastal communities of the storm protections afforded by healthy marsh ecosystems. Development and heavy use of the terrapin’s salt-marsh and barrier-island habitat has led to stark declines in terrapin numbers. Locally, each year more than 500 nesting female terrapins are hit by vehicles, more than 700 hatchling terrapins become trapped in storm drains, and hundreds of terrapins die by drowning in crab traps. Such losses are unsustainable to the population without our intervention. Memorial Day 2015
A female terrapin
For more than 20 years, the Diamondback Terrapin Conservation Program at The Wetlands Institute has promoted the conservation of diamondback terrapins through applied research, advocacy, citizen science projects, and education programs. The Institute and local partners work to reduce road mortality by installing and maintaining terrapin barrier fencing along the causeways to keep terrapins from entering high traffic areas. Unfortunately, barrier fencing can only be installed in areas away from houses and driveways, thus leaving large sections of roadways open for terrapin mortality. In late May through July, female diamondback terrapins emerge from the salt marsh to search for a site to lay their eggs. During this search, females cross busy roads and risk death or injury from
vehicles. The Wetlands Institute monitors more than 38 miles of local roads for terrapins to rescue nesting females in harm’s way and provide treatment for injured terrapins. We also record the location and condition of all terrapins encountered. You have probably seen the patrols on area roadways. Unfortunately, these road patrols encounter high numbers of killed nesting females that we retrieve from roadways. In an effort to help reduce the population impact of so much roadkill, we implement an intensive program to rescue orphaned eggs. In our lab, eggs from roadkilled terrapins are recovered, incubated and hatched. The incubation temperatures of orphaned eggs are controlled to ensure that females will develop to help replace the females being lost on roadways. After emerging, these “head-start” hatchlings
Terrapin crossing sign
Terrapin barrier fence installation
are transferred to Stockton University’s “turtle farm” and partner schools for 10 months of care, giving them a safe environment to grow. After spending most of a year growing, these orphaned turtles are released back into the marsh. The 1-year-old terrapin’s larger size increases the chance that it will survive and return to nest in 6 years or so. Terrapins are released back into the marsh through a series of public events. Our Adopt-A-Terrapin program (wetlandsinstitute.org/conservation/terrapin-conservation/adopt-a-terrapin/) helps offset some of the costs of the Terrapin Conservation Program and affords some supporters with the opportunity to participate in terrapin releases. We also receive some funding through the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund. Area schoolchildren help raise terrapins in their classroom through our “Terrapins In The Classroom” Program. This program created a comprehensive terrapin-based curriculum for students and educators in grades K-8 and for participating schools culminates with the children releasing the terrapins they helped raise. Additionally, the general public can participate in terrapin releases every Tuesday beginning in the midsummer during Totally Turtle Tuesday programs at The Wetlands Institute. In addition to the barrier fencing, road patrol and head-starting projects, our terrapin conservation activities also include installing exclosure cages over terrapin nest sites, which protect buried eggs from predators. To better understand the dynamics of our local terrapin population, we microchip adult, juvenile and head-start terrapins. The microchips are the same that you might use on your cat or dog. We capture nesting female terrapins after they have nested and protect the continued on page 44 WWW.SEVENMILETIMES.COM