Out of all the turtles native to New England, I suspect Wood Turtles are the species most directly impacted by extreme floods. As valley stream specialists, the rivers most prone to extreme floods are the same rivers where Wood Turtles thrive.
One component of our long-term work with Spotted Turtles in the southeastern U.S. has been to collect tissue samples from captured Spotted Turtles so we can examine the genetics of focal populations. The results from this research were recently published in the journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology.
Northern Map Turtles have tan or grayish shells, yellow markings on their skin, and intricate markings on their shell resembling lines on a topographic map, giving the species its name.
The Orianne Society began working with Spotted Turtles in Georgia all the way back in 2014. At that time, little was known about this species in the southeastern U.S. Most of the published research on Spotted Turtles came from the northeast…
Common snapping turtles are often overlooked or underappreciated as a species and perhaps even suffer a bit of a bad rap due to their defensiveness and strong bite when on land. However, underwater, they become almost puppy-like with their curiosity, often approaching very closely.