Speaking of Nature: Pressure is on for the spotted turtle: Now is the point in the turtle life cycle when female turtles are most vulnerable
The story of this spring has been the weather; specifically, the rain that just keeps falling. Add in the new arrival of the hazy smoke blowing south from Canadian wildfires and you’ve got a soggy, foggy, smoky, cloudy mess. The grass in my lawn is growing like crazy and the notion of a No Mow May wasn’t even really much of a choice so much as it was foisted upon us by the weather. When I finally get a dry moment to get out into the yard I am going to have to keep my eyes open for tigers and velociraptors in the tall grass.
As we head into the middle of June we also need to start keeping our eyes open for turtles crossing the road. This is the time of year when female Eastern painted turtles start to look for suitable places to lay their eggs and their wandering can put them in great danger. Drivers may not intend to kill turtles in the road, but it seems to happen all the time. So if you are driving in an area that you know is near water, please consider taking your foot off the gas and being mindful of any little creatures that may be in the road in front of you.
The Eastern painted turtle (Chrysemyspicta) is the most common turtle in our area and is the one most likely to be seen crossing the pavement. However, on the very rarest of occasions there is another “little” turtle that might be found as it attempts to cross a road. This would be the spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata) and though it might share a similar silhouette with its more common cousin, the spotted turtle is quite different when you get a good look at it.
The spotted turtle is a small species that tends to max out at a shell length of about five inches. If you want to toss some science lingo into your next conversation, you can refer to a turtle’s shell as a “carapace,” but watch the eyes of the people you are talking to and abandon the science-speak if you start to see a glazed, vacant look appear. In spotted turtles, the carapace is dark (almost black) and it is decorated with a variable number of yellow spots, for which the species is named.
As we know, turtles have shells on their backs and on their bellies and, scientists being scientists, there is a special name for the shells in each location. The carapace is on the back and the ”plastron” is on the belly. I mention this because turtles can be sexed by looking at the exact morphology of the plastron. Females have flat plastrons, but males have concave plastrons; a feature that makes mating much easier for the males.
Adult males will pursue adult females in underwater courtship chases that include nipping and biting. If a female is impressed, the male will grab onto her shell with his elongated front claws and mate with her. Then, after enough time has passed, the female will need to find a suitable place to lay her eggs and this is the point in the turtle life cycle when the female turtles are most vulnerable. This is because the turtles, which are highly aquatic, must find areas with well-drained open ground where they can lay their eggs. Furthermore, the ground where the eggs are laid must be exposed to sunlight. Often, a really great choice for a nest location is near a road.
The female must dig a hole with her hind legs and then she will lay a clutch of three to four eggs (sometimes more, sometimes less). The eggs need to be in a warm spot so that they can incubate for 70 to 80 days. During that time the exact temperature of the nest is extremely important. This is because the average temperature experienced by each egg will determine the sex of the baby turtle that hatches. Warmer conditions produce female turtles, while cooler temperatures produce males. If the sex ratio of hatchlings is skewed too far in one direction, then a population of spotted turtles may be put into a vulnerable position.
The spotted turtle is a small, adorable species that is highly prized as a pet. Unfortunately, the species is also endangered; found in isolated populations that are in varying stages of decline. The state of Massachusetts chose to delist the species in 2006, but that is only politics. They are extremely sensitive to water quality and will quickly abandon any wetlands impacted by human-made pollution. Of course, small animals like this are not able to travel great distances and if no quality habitat can be found, then they will disappear.
So, I hope you can understand that I will not be telling you where I found the turtle in today’s photo. However, I can tell you that the individual in the photo was not alone, which is a good thing. If you should be lucky enough to see one of these little creatures, please do everything in your power to protect its life. Spotted turtles don’t reach sexual maturity until they are 8 years old and the females don’t lay many eggs in a given year. They need all of the care and consideration that we can give them, so please look out for our vulnerable little wetland neighbors.
Bill Danielson has been a professional writer and nature photographer for 28 years. He has worked for the National Park Service, the US Forest Service, the Nature Conservancy and the Massachusetts State Parks and he currently teaches high school biology and physics. For more in formation visit his website at www.speakingofnature.com, or go to Speaking of Nature on Facebook.
Daily Hampshire Gazette
