next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
Index of Subjects
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_326B_01CF9497.673C2080
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Hi John, Andrew & All, =20
I noticed on a post to naturens recently that (from the NS Museum of =
NH site)--
"It may seem harmless to keep a turtle as a pet for a while, but this is =
not a good idea. Two of the province's four turtle species are already =
at risk in Nova Scotia. It is likely that removal of turtles by people =
is part of the reason, for Wood Turtles."
I expect this supposition rests in part on your 1984 statement =
(Amphibians and Reptiles of Nova Scotia p. 148) that--
"Another problem facing the Wood Turtle is the removal of many =
individuals from their habitat by people while on fishing trips or =
camping trips" which are then subsequently "released in the woods many =
kilometers from its natural habitat."
Perhaps you can provide some details of the observations on which =
your above statement was based.=20
To get a third viewpoint for comparison I went to Wood Turtle on =
Wikipedia and with some personal satisfaction note that much of their =
text, re Wood Turtles range wide, might have been written by me re =
turtles and amphibians in NS; e.g. emphasis on habitat loss, traffic =
fatalities, a plug for culvert underpasses and the observation that an =
overabundant Raccoon threatens WTs at all life stages. They quite =
rightly list commercial collections made for the international pet trade =
as a genuine threat. They note without commentary that "Brochures and =
other media that warn people to avoid keeping the wood turtle as a pet =
are currently being distributed."; a variant of damming by faint praise.
With respect to culvert underpasses I paste the following--
START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hi Lisa & All, July 31, 2008
I dare say you are already moving in this direction, but a small=20
animal underpass, suitably located (e.g. where you were escorting=20
toadlets in this instance) would be less labour-intensive and=20
consequently more practicable in the long run.
Why Conservation organizations have not lobbied for and made public=20
noises about small animal crossings beats me. Perhaps I have not been=20
paying attention but I have noticed that some have been installed in the =
UK. Even modest highways with light traffic can be effective barriers to =
movement of Reptiles and Amphibians, either by preventing access to the=20
roadway or by killing some that do make it.
Based on road kills observed while walking, I think snakes must sun=20
on gravel roads where they blend in nicely before and after being=20
flattened. And a 20-cm high ridge of gravel, thrown up by a road grader, =
can stop a 30-cm snake from crossing. And a highway sand cut, at angle=20
of repose after about 25 years, acts as a solid wall to a toad (in dry=20
weather; wet might be different).
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
And just one more example--
START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hi Flora & All, Apr 3, 2006
Traffic on our highways is unfortunately a very effective way to =
kill small animals; invertebrate & vertebrate. I dug out two responses =
to this spring rush (pasted below) and am struck by the agreement in =
timing. As noted in my post of Sept 17, 2005, underpasses can be very =
effective at least for snakes.
Thanks for the opportunity to flog a pet idea.
DW
Flora Cordis Johnson wrote:
Last night's rain, though undoubtedly needed, brought the first =
amphibian roadkills of spring to my neck of the woods, and a lot of =
them. In a 3/4 mile stretch of road that runs through a wetland east of =
my house on Cloverdale Road, near Middle Stewiacke, I counted three dead =
spring peepers, ranging in size from about a half inch to about an inch =
in length, and a large (about 2 inch) dark-charcoal coloured salamander =
with faint blue markings on its sides. In addition there were several =
unidentifiable splats -- which, judging from size and weather, were most =
likely ex-frogs. I brought the salamander home in a dead leaf and =
photographed it.
A sad Wild Flora in Birch Hill
START OF PASTES\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hi Anne & All, Mar 31, 2002
I recall hearing some years ago that toad (or frog ?) underpasses =
had
been installed on some British highways, really culverts at ditch =
level,
and had substantially reduced road kills.
I wonder if these salamanders would preferentially use a culvert if =
it
were available and how large it would need to be ?
Dave Webster, Kentville
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Hi James & All, Mar 31, 2005
A lot of amphibians and reptiles don't get to the other side when=20
they attempt to cross a road.
I continue to wonder why Naturalist organizations don't pressure=20
more for safe R&A underpass crossings. Is this a design problem or a=20
motivation problem ?
Yours truly, Dave Webster, Kentville
END OF PASTES; really \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
I don't like putting you and Andrew on the spot but remember "Iron =
sharpeneth iron", Prov. 27:17, I don't think the numbers add up and in =
my view, backed by Wikipedia as it happens (noted above), there are =
greater environmental problems that collectively shrink the odd turtle =
picked up on a fishing or camping trip to a value that is =
indistinguishable from zero.=20
According to Wikipedia, Wood Turtles live to 40 years in the wild =
(58 in captivity), become sexually mature at ages 14-18 and lay 3-20 =
eggs per year. For simple mental arithmetic one can round this to 20 =
egg-laying years and 10 eggs per year for a total of 200 eggs per =
female. So attrition must be severe to maintain a stable population and =
the range in egg production implies a control mechanism to avoid =
damaging intraspecific competition.
Males contest for the opportunity to mate so taking a male home =
would have no impact (apart from the positive one of decreasing demand =
on resources) and unless the population were really sparse the removal =
of a female would be soon offset by greater egg production as resources =
per adult increased.
On the other hand I have found no mention in your text for any =
species of the much greater threats of habitat destruction, road =
traffic and habitat fragmentation by highway embankments. Effective =
protection can be implemented only if the major threats are recognized.=20
And pushing the delusion that all will be fine if people just stop =
taking turtles home and releasing them far from the turtle's home, while =
downplaying or ignoring the much greater threats is in my view a good =
way to condemn the Wood Turtle to ultimate extirpation.
That is more than enough serious text for one communication so I =
will turn briefly to matters that are more fun.
In the plots of Eastern Painted Turtle (EP) and Wood Turtle (WT) =
distribution it is interesting (to me) that one distribution is almost =
entirely in the negative space of the other. Of 24 WT and 31 EP stations =
only 4 appear