The Box Turtle Connection: a Passageway Into the Natural World

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The Box Turtle Connection: a Passageway Into the Natural World The Box Turtle Connection Gil Grant A Passageway into the Natural World Ann Berry Somers and Catherine E. Matthews The Box Turtle Connection A Passageway into the Natural World Ann Berry Somers and Catherine E. Matthews Photographs by Ann Somers unless otherwise indicated 2006 ii “To the amateur, I say learn about nature, but do it carefully and with commitment . Amateur naturalists have much to offer the scientific community in understanding the ways of box turtles. To the professional, I say get outdoors and observe nature . Natural history should be celebrated. After all, we are dealing with life in all its complexity. A study of box turtles is the perfect place to begin.” – Ken Dodd (2001) iii Contents Contents...................................................................................................................iv List of Figures...........................................................................................................v List of Appendices....................................................................................................vi Preface.....................................................................................................................vii Acknowledgements... .............................................................................................. ix It Takes a Universe by Thomas Berry.......................................................................... xi 1. The Turtle Connection by Ann Somers............................................................ 1 2. Range and Habitat........................... ........................................................... 2 3. What Box Turtles Need by Gary Stock............................................................ 5 4. The Box Turtle: A Species in Decline...........................................................7 5. Box Turtles in the Road............................................................................... 10 6. Planning Field Research ............................................................................. 11 7. Participant Safety........................................................................................ 13 8. Guidelines for Use of Live Amphibians and Reptiles in Field Research ............................................................................................ 14 9. Visual Surveys............................................................................................. 15 10. How to Conduct a Box Turtle Census by Mike Quinlin and Chris Swarth............. 16 11. Equipment.....................................................................................................18 12. Data Collection............................................................................................ 19 13. Marking System for Box Turtles ................................................................. 20 14. Gender Determination ................................................................................. 23 15. Age Determination....................................................................................... 25 16. Weighing and Measuring............................................................................. 26 17. Radiotelemetry............................................................................................ 33 18. Turtle Care................................................................................................... 36 19. Field Etiquette and Landowner Relations.................................................... 38 20. Classroom Connections by Heather Soja, Catherine Scott, and Catherine Matthews. 40 Turtle Connections in the Elementary School ............................................. 40 Turtle Connections in the Middle and Secondary School............................ 57 21. Notable Box Turtle Researchers ................................................................. 76 Bibliography............................................................................................................. 77 iv List of Figures Figure 1. A juvenile eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)......................... 2 Figure 2. Box turtle range maps. ................................................................................ 3 Figure 3. Box turtles come in a variety of colors and patterns.................................... 4 Figure 4. Turtles create shallow depressions called forms......................................... 4 Figure 5. Box turtles can survive cool fires................................................................. 7 Figure 6. Box turtles in Alaska?.................................................................................. 9 Figure 7. Having landowner permission to access property can be important ........... 13 Figure 8. Marginal scute notches are made with a triangular file ............................... 20 Figure 9. Researchers vary on preferred notch depth................................................ 20 Figure 10. Carapace marked as “BKO,” last processed in August ............................... 21 Figure 11. Plastrons of males are concave .................................................................. 23 Figure 12. Males often have bright red eyes. ............................................................... 23 Figure 13. Hatchlings don’t show gender characteristics. ............................................ 24 Figure 14. Annuli on carapace (left) and plastron (right) .............................................. 25 Figure 15. Pesola scales shown here are not preferred for heavy turtles .................... 26 Figure 16. Measuring straight carapace length ............................................................ 27 Figure 17. Measuring maximum carapace length......................................................... 28 Figure 18. Names of scutes on carapace..................................................................... 29 Figure 19. Measuring shell height................................................................................. 30 Figure 20. Plastron length (total) .................................................................................. 31 Figure 21. Carapace widths measured from ventral aspect ......................................... 32 Figure 22. Secure the transmitter near the 4th pleural scute........................................ 33 Figure 23. Tracking turtles takes practice!.................................................................... 34 Figure 24. Mark turtle locations with flagging tape ....................................................... 35 Figure 25. Area of activity of four box turtles over a one-year period ........................... 35 Figure 26. Involving children is a good way to interest parents and grandparents....... 38 Figure 27. Taking measurements, filling out data sheets, and art projects. ................. 57 Figure 28. The turtle research team at Bethany Community Middle School ................ 80 Figure 29. Turtle Day is a great way to learn environmental values............................. 83 Figure 30. Students learn to use spreadsheets............................................................ 85 Figure 31. A female turtle laying eggs .......................................................................... 90 Figure 32. Box turtles normally have 4 pleural scutes.................................................. 95 Figure 33. Troy Moore tracks Bart at Bethany Community Middle School ................... 100 Figure 34. Structures in the habitat can be used to map turtle localities ...................... 102 v List of Appendices Appendix A – Science Scope Article on BCMS Box Turtle Project......................... 80 Appendix B – Turtle Drop-off Form ......................................................................... 89 Appendix C – Turtle Morphometric Data Sheet ...................................................... 93 Appendix D – Locality Data Sheet .......................................................................... 100 Appendix E – Turtle Census Data Sheet ................................................................ 106 Appendix F – Diagrams and Handouts ................................................................... 110 Appendix G – Additional Resources ....................................................................... 120 Appendix H – Contacts ........................................................................................... 123 Appendix I – Glossary ............................................................................................ 124 vi Preface t has been many decades or perhaps more than a century since natural history held a preeminent status in science, and it is clear that natural history is losing in the competition I with cellular, molecular, and developmental biology at all levels of education and research. Most students see no future in natural history and truly believe that, like its namesake, natural history is history. Yet, there’s still much to be discovered. “Keeping common animals common” (Gibbons and Stangel, 1999) will depend somewhat on our ability to make discoveries through research. We assume some animals, like box turtles (genus Terrapene), are common because of our personal sightings, distribution maps which indicate they are widespread, and because they hold no special distinction of being at risk. Yet some of these familiar species may not be as common as we think. Since most of us see the occasional box turtle or two crossing a road, even in urban areas, we tend
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