Study finds rare juveni...( ecies becoming threatened worldwide as ...)

ecies becoming threatened worldwide as turtles are being used for food, exported for trade and as their habitats are destroyed or degraded. "We are fortunate to have Dr. Kurt Buhlmann of Conservation International involved in the project as he is involved with turtle conservation issues at an international scale."

The grant, made by Michigan Natural Heritage small grants program, funded by the Natural Heritage Program through citizen contributions to the Nongame Wildlife Fund, will enable Gibbons and his collaborators to conduct field surveys of Blanding's turtles to supplement the existing 36-year data set and to examine the life history traits and ecology of the species under undisturbed conditions. Using the already-marked population in privately-owned Sherriff's Marsh in Kalamazoo County, they will also try to determine the extent to which this species uses peripheral wetlands not contiguous with Sherriff's Marsh and to find out where the juveniles live.

So far, the continuing study has yielded a treasure trove of information, with a total of 411 captures and recaptures through June 2000. Of those, 263 are different individuals. This year Gibbons recaptured three individuals he first found in 1966. Identifying marks are carved harmlessly on each individual when it is first found, allowing scientists to correctly identify it in future years. Meticulous records track where each individual is found at each capture, which gives scientists a good idea of how the species uses the available habitat. The three turtles recaptured this year are actually older than most of the scientists studying them.

Gibbons says, "The important feature of the study is that the Sherriff's Marsh habitat is one where turtle populations are thriving, compared to many populations of Blanding's turtle in other states and other parts of Michigan. What we are attempting to do is identify those environmental characteristics that make this such a healthy population of t
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Contact: Rosemary Forrest
forrest@srel.edu
803-725-2473
DOE/Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
23-Jul-2000

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