•What is the density of different species of turtles found in traps in Lake Romeyn?

•How much does the temperature affect the number of turtles caught?

•What are the most commonly found species in the area?

•According to the Massachusetts Audubon Society all these species of turtles are endangered with the exception of painted turtles and snapping turtles, therefore we expected to catch mainly these two species

•Blandings Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii)

•Bog Turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergii)

•Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

•Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

•Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

• Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

• Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta)

•Plymouth Red-Bellied Turtle (Pseudemys rubriventris)

•Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

•Wood Turtle (Clemmys insculpta

•Painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) generally inhabit shallow pools of water with rocks, fallen trees, banks, and other dry sites that allow for basking in the sun •Their diet is a variety of plants and animals including snails, fish, and tadpoles•Have a lifespan of at least thirteen years, many usually much longer•Deposits their eggs from June to mid-July in the sun in loose or sandy soil and hatching occurs from mid-August through September

•The Snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) is found in virtually every body of water in Massachusetts

•Suspected to have a lifespan of at least 47 years

•Diet differs from painted turtles in that it includes fish, frogs, salamanders, snakes, young waterfowl, insects, in addition to the consumption of a few plants

•Lay their eggs similarly in June and early July in loose soil in lawns, fields, and along roadsides and their eggs tend to hatch in September

Independent Variables: water and air temperature

Dependent Variables: activity levels, amount of basking, and amounts of food

•Turtle Traps were set by Ian and Jason prior to April 26th as part of their tutorial and we shared their data

•The traps contained bait for the turtles - sardine cans opened 1/6th of the way

•The traps had cylindrical netting supported by two metal poles – see picture

•The traps were checked a total of five times between April 26th and May 24th

Date Painted Turtles Caught

Snapping Turtles Caught

Temperature High/Low degrees Fahrenheit

April 26th 4 0 69/35

May 12th 14 1 66/36

May 13th 1 0 64/31

May 19th 7 0 65/41

May 24th 0 0 47/43

These are the results of the data collection on the five dates when traps were checked. More Turtles were caught during the period of warmer weather in early May, less in late May with colder weather. Clearly the painted turtles were much more abundant than Snapping Turtles, however this could be due to many factors. Periods of time between trap checking probably affected data because the longer interval between checks, most likely means more turtles will become trapped.

Possible explanations for the outcome of the experiment:

•Painted Turtle abundance is greater than Snapping Turtle abundance in Lake Romeyn•The turtle traps used were more apt to catch Painted Turtles than Snapping Turtles because of the structure of the traps, bait used or location of the traps•Snapping Turtles were more lethargic than Painted Turtles in the month of may, especially during the colder periods•The relatively small number of turtles caught over the entire month may be due to a colder than average month of may which affected turtle energy levels, and also may have limited their food resources.

Ways to Improve the Experiment

• A larger number of traps placed around the entire lake and more frequent trap checking would produce more precise results.

• Separate Traps for Painted and Snapping Turtles may eliminate any bias that exists in the current traps.

• Doing the experiment in a warmer period where the turtles are more active would also be more likely to produce an accurate sample of species densities in Lake Romeyn.