Now that we’ve lured you in with a cute baby turtle, let’s talk about conservation and science! The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a native of East Coast marshes and the only turtle in the United States to live in brackish water (a mix of fresh and salt water). They are surprisingly speedy swimmers and prey on fish, crabs, snails, and whatever else they can get their webbed feet around. While the adult terrapins lack many natural predators, they are often killed by humans in boat collisions, as crab pot bycatch, or while crossing roads to reach their preferred sandy nesting grounds during the summer. Project Terrapin, an organization in southern New Jersey, has efforts underway to protect and better understand their wild populations. The cutie pictured above is Drexel, who was part of their hatchling head start program where eggs are collected and incubated in safety, reared through the dangerous winter, and released the following spring. Their observational studies, like mentioned below, are important in part for informing policy; for example, a population’s changes year-to-year can support listing a species as threatened or endangered which would promote conservation and prevent development in critical habitat. People like you could also support conservation! Many similar organizations benefit from sightings reported on citizen science platforms like iNaturalist or eBird, and some accept volunteer help for surveys or other projects. Pick a favorite organism and see what’s out there!
Below: These adults are part of Project Terrapin mark-recapture studies, where individuals are collected from a specific population, measured, marked (such as with a code notched in the shell, like on the left), and released each year. Scientists can get an estimate of the population from the number of recaptures (individuals caught that were previously marked) alongside other useful data.
Note: All turtles handled with proper training and permitting.
Photos and caption by Brady Nichols
Edited by Brady Nichols