Ecology and Conservation of Wood Turtles

Mike Jones, a PhD candidate in OEB and in Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation, studies the distribution, movements, and ecology of North American wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta). Wood turtles are members of the Emydidae, a family of turtles that is broadly distributed in North America and most diverse in the southeastern United States. Wood turtles, however, are a northern species that range from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, to northern Virginia and eastern Minnesota. They hibernate in clear streams from sea level to over 2000', and forage in upland fields and forests during the summer. They are of conservation concern throughout their range because of marked population declines. Wood turtle populations decline quickly in response to increased adult mortality in part because individual turtles take about fifteen years to mature. Mike uses radiotelemetry to assess the behavior and habitat requirements of individual turtles in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and builds landscape models in GIS to depict population trends and the distribution of the species. Mike's research has identified several causes of elevated adult mortality due to agricultural activities and severe flooding, and he has documented several instances of short-term population declines. Mike is generally interested in applying field-based research to on-the-ground conservation and is also coordinating field studies of alpine amphibians and Florida box turtles.

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