Photo Credits: Terin Weinberg
Wicomico County is home to a vibrant and gentle species of turtle called the Spotted Turtle. It is an elegant species that is capable of living for 100 years. Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) are identified by the Maryland Biodiversity Project as a "small, dark turtle species with small yellow or orange spots on the carapace...[they] prefer shallow water habitats, such as swamps, ponds, bogs, marshy wetlands, creeks (including tidal ones) or ephemeral pools, but at times may be found at times in forested areas some distance from the water". The spotted turtle is on the Vulnerable List according to the Maryland DNR, while the IUCN has the species on its Red List as an endangered species. There are only 116 records of spotted turtles in the Maryland Biodiversity Project database.
Salisbury University's Dr. Tami Ransom stated in an interview that ponds at one of their lab’s research sites showed salinity two times higher than the previous year. This could be a temporary increase from a single large storm event or it might be due to salt water intrusion. If it is a result of salt water intrusion, this would eventually impact the spotted turtle population at that site.
Turtles species might be highly affected by climate change. They have temperature-dependent sex determination meaning that the temperature of the nest during development determines the sex of a turtle. When spotted turtle nests are over 86 ˚F during the critical phase of development, the nests produce only female turtles, which could pose problems for spotted turtle populations in a possibly warmer future.
Eaquan Chaudhry, a graduate student working on spotted turtles at Salisbury University, focused his thesis on the factors that dictate habitat usage by endangered spotted turtles, with the context of climate change in mind. He clarifies, "not all species are capable of withstanding such extreme conditions; consequently, we think that the saltwater intrusion associated with sea level rise may be causing extensive damage to populations of freshwater turtles (such as the spotted turtle) via habitat fragmentation". Chaudhry continued to explain, "not only does salt-water intrusion destroy the homes of freshwater amphibians and reptiles, but it also destroys the vegetation structure". The projections of habitat fragmentation and destruction of valuable vegetation will adversely effect the existence of spotted turtles [2].
There was even a bill enacted in Maryland to raise awareness of the detrimental effects of climate change on the population and to create a day dedicated to the spotted turtle population:
Salisbury University's Dr. Tami Ransom stated in an interview that ponds at one of their lab’s research sites showed salinity two times higher than the previous year. This could be a temporary increase from a single large storm event or it might be due to salt water intrusion. If it is a result of salt water intrusion, this would eventually impact the spotted turtle population at that site.
Turtles species might be highly affected by climate change. They have temperature-dependent sex determination meaning that the temperature of the nest during development determines the sex of a turtle. When spotted turtle nests are over 86 ˚F during the critical phase of development, the nests produce only female turtles, which could pose problems for spotted turtle populations in a possibly warmer future.
Eaquan Chaudhry, a graduate student working on spotted turtles at Salisbury University, focused his thesis on the factors that dictate habitat usage by endangered spotted turtles, with the context of climate change in mind. He clarifies, "not all species are capable of withstanding such extreme conditions; consequently, we think that the saltwater intrusion associated with sea level rise may be causing extensive damage to populations of freshwater turtles (such as the spotted turtle) via habitat fragmentation". Chaudhry continued to explain, "not only does salt-water intrusion destroy the homes of freshwater amphibians and reptiles, but it also destroys the vegetation structure". The projections of habitat fragmentation and destruction of valuable vegetation will adversely effect the existence of spotted turtles [2].
There was even a bill enacted in Maryland to raise awareness of the detrimental effects of climate change on the population and to create a day dedicated to the spotted turtle population:
house_bill_spotted_turtles.pdf | |
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References
1. Personal Communication, Dr. Tami Ransom, Salisbury University Faculty, April 19th, 2018.
2. Personal Communication, Eaquan Chaudhry, Salisbury University Graduate Student, April 20, 2018.
1. Personal Communication, Dr. Tami Ransom, Salisbury University Faculty, April 19th, 2018.
2. Personal Communication, Eaquan Chaudhry, Salisbury University Graduate Student, April 20, 2018.
Photo used under Creative Commons from asokolik