15Th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles
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CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA 2017 15th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles Joint Annual Meeting of the Turtle Survival Alliance and IUCN Tortoise & Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group Program and Abstracts August 7 - 9 2017 Charleston, SC Additional Conference Support Provided by: Kristin Berry, Herpetologiccal Review, John Iverson, Robert Krause,George Meyer, David Shapiro, Anders Rhodin, Brett and Nancy Stearns, and Reid Taylor Funding for the 2016 Behler Turtle Conservation Award Provided by: Brett and Nancy Stearns, Chelonian Research Foundation, Deb Behler, George Meyer, IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, Leigh Ann and Matt Frankel and the Turtle Survival Alliance TSA PROJECTS TURTLE SURVIVAL ALLIANCE 2017 Conference Highlights In October 2016, the TSA opened the Keynote: Russell Mittermeier Tortoise Conservation Center in southern Madagascar that will provide long- Priorities and Opportunities in Biodiversity Conservation term care for the burgeoning number of tortoises seized from the illegal trade. Russell A. Mittermeier is The TSA manages over 7,800 Radiated Executive Vice Chair at Con- Tortoises in seven rescue facilities. servation International. He served as President of Conser- vation International from 1989 to 2014. Named a “Hero for the Planet” by TIME magazine, Mittermeier is regarded as a world leader in the field of biodiversity and tropical forest conservation. Trained as a primatologist and herpetologist, he has traveled widely in over 160 countries on seven continents, and has conducted field work in more than 30 − focusing particularly on Amazonia (especially Brazil The TSA-Myanmar team and our vet- and Suriname), the Atlantic forest region of Brazil, and Madagascar. erinary and husbandry staff from the Turtle Survival Center teamed up with WCS to provide triage and husband- We hope everyone enjoys the festivities that this ry for over 800 Big-headed Turtles year's venue provides. Special thanks to the South confiscated from wildlife-traffickers in Myanmar. Carolina Aquarium for helping us kick-off the festivities and the DoubleTree for helping us wrap up the celebration! TABLE OF CONTENTS Conference Highlights ...........................................................................1 Welcome Message from the program Co-Chairs ...................................3 The first international bloodline Welcome Message from the TSA and TFTSG Leadership ....................4 exchange of one of the world's most endangered species, Zhou's Box Behler Conservation Award ...................................................................5 Turtle (Cuora zhoui) occurred in June through a cooperative agreement Conference Notes ...................................................................................6 between the TSA and the Interna- tional Centre for the Conservation of Hotel Conference Map ...........................................................................8 Turtles at the Allwetterzoo Münster in Germany. Exchanges like this are vital Conference Overview Schedule .............................................................9 to global captive conservation efforts Daily Program Schedules .....................................................................11 to save these critically endangered species. 2017 2017 From the Program Co-Chairs: WELCOME TO THE HOLY CITY! From the Hosts: WELCOME! From one historic city to another, the 15th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwa- On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), and the leadership of the IUCN SSC Tortoise ter Turtles serves up another suite of presentations on this amazing group of organisms. After a successful 2016 symposium and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (TFTSG), we welcome you to the 15th Annual Symposium on the Conservation and in New Orleans, we are pleased to welcome you to the Turtle Survival Alliance’s home turf, Charleston, South Carolina! This Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles. We decided to keep things southern this year and selected another venue that we year’s meeting, sponsored by Zoo Med Laboratories is being co-hosted by the Turtle Survival Alliance and the IUCN Tortoise knew would be fun and exciting, Charleston, South Carolina. Famous for its historic beauty and unsurpassed southern charm and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Suites in Charleston’s Historic District. We and hospitality, the Holy City provides ample opportunities for socializing and reconnecting with friends and colleagues. We just hope Charleston is ready for the largest gathering of turtle biologists, zookeepers, husbandrists, and enthusiasts, any- selected the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel and Suites for its proximity to a diversity of bars and restaurants and is located in the where in the world! This year’s symposium includes special sessions on Headstarting, Zoos and Chelonians, Captive Hus- heart of old downtown Charleston. bandry, Road Ecology, Community Outreach and Partnerships, Freshwater Turtles of the Southeast USA, and Conservation And while Charleston is a charming tourist destination, widely recognized as one of the top foodie destinations in the U.S, and Policy in the United States. The latter session will focus on current funding and potential new funding initiatives that fine dining is not the reason we selected this venue. We wanted to offer conference attendees an opportunity to see the TSA’s would have tremendous impacts on turtle conservation in the United States. Turtle Survival Center in nearby Cross, SC. The tour is Sunday, August 6, and is fully booked. Please be ready to board the As always, we are excited to see many of our old friends, and make new connections in the turtle conservation world. As busses by 8:00 AM sharp as this will be the only way to get there. Because of security concerns and lack of parking space, this symposium enters its 15th year of existence, its impact on the biology of chelonians is quite evident. The level of collab- we must insist that you arrive on the scheduled bus transportation. Lunch will be served after the tour and we will have you oration and cross-pollination amongst the attendees is tremendous. Many of the projects you will hear about at this year’s back to the hotel by early afternoon with plenty of time to chill out before the icebreaker. Our local sponsor this year is the meeting started out as ideas and conversations in banquet rooms and barstools at previous symposia. This level of interaction South Carolina Aquarium which is graciously hosting our icebreaker Sunday evening, August 6. The Aquarium is roughly a amongst your peers in concert with the information presented during our paper sessions is what makes this symposium so 20-minute stroll from the conference hotel but for those of you who prefer less strenuous options, you can Uber/Lyft or hire a successful. Many of us attended our first symposium in 2006 as students, and now have become collaborators and co-authors pedicab. on many papers and presentations! We hope to facilitate and encourage this level of continuity, which we do in part through The highlight of this year’s conference will be a special plenary session on the pros and cons of headstarting turtles for Travel Grants and Student Presentation Awards. The generosity of our vendors and sponsors make Travel Grants and our reintroduction, in the afternoon of Day 1, August 7. The debate over whether headstarting in an effective conservation tool is social events a possibility, so please take the time to visit the sponsor booths, buy their products, or just say thanks. a contentious one, and this session will attempt to illustrate successful examples of headstarting, based on survival, but will As the “front” people who interact with the presenters, an impression that we “organize” the conference is created. Nothing also highlight some programs that have not proved successful. A series of presentations, both on tortoises and freshwater could be further from the truth. Cristina Jones jumped in to help get the program pulled together. Robert Villa and Michael turtles, will be followed by two roundtable discussions that will encourage audience input and questions. Overall this session Hance will be running the AV and making sure your presentations run smoothly. Greg Brashear, Adventure Steve, and Zach- is intended to showcase examples of success, as well as point the way for improved monitoring techniques. Also early in the ary Walde will be taking your photos; smile! Nancy Reinert and Rose Tremblay will be here again to help run the hospital- evening of Day 1, IUCN TFTSG Chair Craig Stanford will host a review of the Top 25+ Turtles in Trouble in an open forum ity suite and do a million other necessary jobs to keep the conference running smoothly behind the scenes. And, of course, session. Lonnie McCaskill will be around to help with all sorts of details, logistics, and to answer any of your questions. Ilze Astad, On Wednesday night, August 9, we wrap up with our Awards Banquet, where the student awards, Turtle Conservation the TSA’s Director of Development, has put together our offsite events at the Turtle Survival Center, SC Aquarium, and the Fund, and Behler Award winners will be announced. The banquet will be at the conference hotel, the DoubleTree. soon to be famous, Henry’s. While Chris Clark has been busy working the site logistics and the never ending details and We offer special thanks