It’s a TRAP – ZNE Field Conservation Blog

You pick up a peculiar scent in the marsh today. Delicious, you muse with interest, and the thought sets your turtle-tummy a-rumbling. Bright yellow dots adorn a smooth carapace, and this pretty turtle shell glides just under the surface of the water as you paddle towards the source of decadence. Just another day in the life of a Spotted turtle on the look-out for the next meal at Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro (LDT) State Park.

Clawing past the green sedges, you hardly notice entering a tunnel of light netting because – there! There it is! It’s a tin of… sardines? What luck! And it is wafting out the most oily, attractive smell. You are basking in this yumminess when suddenly you find yourself hefted out of the water and looking eye-to-eye with a swampy field researcher in waders.

Data specific to the turtle individual and the environment where it was captured are collected (including weight of the turtle, carapace length, plastron length and maximum width of the carapace). If or when this turtle gets captured again, the same measurements will be recorded. In this way, we learn about turtle growth!

*Did you know that the pattern of a Spotted Turtle plastron is unique? Kind of like fingerprints for humans! For every new individual we encounter, a photograph of the plastron is obtained.*

Oh yes, this again, you sigh and realize that you have found yourself in a passive turtle trap. It’s simple to get into the cylindrical passive-trap that floats in the water, but not so simple to get back out. The researchers deftly collect data on you including your weight, shell measurements and taking pictures of your uniquely patterned plastron.

It’s not long before you gently glide back into the swampy waters, with a couple of researchers cheering for you and wishing you luck until the next time you meet again. The sardine oils slide off your shell, and you are already on the look-out for the next snack. You might not realize it, but you are part of an important population study of Spotted Turles at Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro State Park!

The Spotted Turtle Project at Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro (LDT)

For the last two weeks of May, John Berholtz and I visited Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro State Park nearly every day.

We suited up in our trusty chest waders and set about checking the passive turtle traps which we baited with tinned sardines.

*One of the 20 traps that John and Marike set at Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro State Park to investigate Spotted Turtles.*

This trapping effort was the start of a project at the Conservation Department assessing the population of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) at LDT and assessing how female Spotted Turtles make use of the marsh landscape for nesting purposes. Ultimately, this information can be useful in management decisions and practices of wetlands in this species’ range and this research is conducted in partnership with the U.S Department of Defense and the Smithsonian Institute.

*Passive traps were present throughout the various amazing habitats of Spruce Swamp.*

*These traps were checked daily and all findings are then recorded*

Nothing makes fieldwork more fun than company, and during our trapping period, we had the enormous pleasure of guests joining us a couple of times.

From left to right: Marike Voysey, Jackie Anderson, John Berkholtz and Ryan Horsik. After a long day and many miles at LDT. Ryan Horsik, the Conservation Educator, was instrumental in helping to check traps during the trapping period. Jackie Anderson, the Conservation Agent from the Town of Dracut also joined us for a day, and we had a blast.

We had the pleasure of being joined in the field by Peter Zahler, the Director of Field Conservation at Zoo New England. On the right, Peter proudly holds a female Blanding’s turtle that made her way into the trap. Blanding’s turtles are also part of very important population studies at Lowell-Dracut-Tynsboro State Park!

We collected data on over 20 Spotted Turtles and deployed radio trackers on six females. We kept a close eye on these females during this nesting season, with the aim of gathering valuable data on their nesting locations and movements which has never been collected on this species at this state park.

Of course, many other creatures can’t resist the allure of the sardine tin (yum)! We make sure to record all other species captured in the traps. Due to the nature of the netted trap, we need to carefully remove each creature by hand. Here are some of the highlights! What cuties.