Summer/Fall 2009 Newsletter
Friday, November 6, 2009
In this issue:
Moving on to a Bigger and Better Space
We Have No Choice but to Succeed!
Turtle Taxi
Many Thanks!
Spotlight on the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)
Turtles, Citizen Science, and YOU!
Moving on to a Bigger and Better Space
By Danielle Tassie
Have you ever gone house hunting for a place that holds 70 turtles? If so, you’ll understand the daunting task that faced the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre’s board of directors this past winter and spring. After four years in a very generously donated space, it was time to move on. The existing building was needed for another business, and with a new rehabber on staff and an onsite hospital area in the works, the Turtle Centre needed to find a bigger home.
Generally quiet animals, turtles do have certain needs – like a good water supply, lots of electrical outlets (for lights and heaters) – plus a space that can accommodate surgery and other medical treatments, a kitchen area, storage, and space for volunteers. As a non-profit organization that relies on private donations, the ideal budget is cheap to free.
Board members searched long and hard for a building that met at least most of these requirements. Once it was found – a two story warehouse in Peterborough’s south end –preparations for moving began. Paul McLeod (property manager of 724 Erskine) deserves a big hand for getting our new building turtle-ready under tight timelines!
The board is grateful for the support of several indivduals who assisted with our search and securing the new facility. Doug Lytle, a commercial real estate agent with Century 21, advised us on finding an appropriate property and deciphering lease arrangements. Lawyers Tracey Henry, Ian Attridge, Roger Howson and John Bartley all offered free legal advice on our move.
We would also like to thank The Trent Severn Waterway for offering an alternate space. We were unable to take them up on their offer due to timing and space requirements. We all know how hard it can be to find enough friends & family willing to give up a weekend to help move. But when it’s time for turtles to move house, it turns out that people are more than willing to lend a hand.
Moving day was Saturday May 2nd, and over 25 people from Peterborough, Norwood, Oshawa, Toronto and everywhere in between, came out to help. From morning until well past midnight, volunteers cleaned out the old centre, moved tanks, filters, carried impossibly heavy shelving, medical supplies, and worked tirelessly on setting up turtle tanks at the new centre. It was still too early in the year to release last year’s patients, so a few lucky volunteers even got to drive containers full of Snapping, Painted, Map, and Blanding’sTurtles across town.
Moving day went so smoothly because of the help of so many volunteers – so many people willing to spend their Saturday supporting the turtles and the KTTC!
Local businesses also pitched in, and thanks go out to:
* Peterborough Automotive and Machine LTD
* Breathe Easy Duct Cleaning
* Prentice Lift Truck Inc.
Thanks are also due to Kip Parker for travelling from Toronto and, not only bringing us all a delicious lunch, working from morning to night on setting up the headstarting room for the Wood Turtle Recovery Project.
The KTTC would like to extend a huge thank you to John Burman and Scott Andersen of Burman & Fellows Group – for their generous donation of space and utlities during the past 4 years, and for their help setting up the new centre. Their generosity has made it possible for the KTTC to treat and care for so many turtles over the years.
In the midst of the move, the KTTC also proudly welcomed new license holder and veterinarian Sue Carstairs. Sue is busy setting up a hospital area in the new centre, so that more of the surgery and medical care of turtles can be done in-house, and the KTTC can increase the number of turtles that receive care at the centre each year.
The big move coincided with turtle nesting season - the Turtle Centre’s busiest time for intaking and treating injured turtles. Until everything is up and running and the new hospital area is completed, intakes have not been possible. The Turtle Centre would like to thank the wildlife rehab centres who have been increasing their intake of injured turtles (particularly the Toronto Wildlife Centre, and the Midland SPCA), and the local KTTC Turtle Taxi drivers, who have worked hard at getting local turtles further afield for surgery, and back to Peterborough for their long term care.
It is a time of upheaval, but also of great excitement and new possibilities for the Turtle Centre. A new building lease, staff and expanding programs means more costs for the KTTC. If you would like to support the centre and its work caring for injured turtles, and spreading the word about turtles in Ontario, please visit our website to become a member, or you can donate or online at www.canadahelps.org (search for Kawartha Turtle) or by mailing a cheque to KTTC c/o Riverview Park and Zoo, PO Box 4125 Peterborough ON K9J 6Z5.
We Have No Choice But to Succeed!
By Annita Newell and the dedicated volunteers of the KTTC Fundraising Committee
It’s the perennial question for charities – how do we find the funds to keep our work going?
For the KTTC, that became a more immediate and urgent question this spring when our rent-free status ended. We now face the prospect of having to find a lot of money to pay market rent for our turtle hospital and rehab centre. To put it in real terms – we were paying zero dollars for our former building; now we must find $1,600 each month for rent!
But, true to the indomitable spirit of the KTTC since its birth, we have looked at the mountain and started the climb with our eyes on the top.
In short order we have reorganized our financial goals, formed a strong, active and keen core fund-raising committee and come up with at least two dozen great ideas to raise money -- from the most modest to most ambitious.
Thank you to Michael Dumas who donated a beautiful giclee print for the KTTC to raffle. The draw was held on May 22 at the Riverview Park and Zoo. Gary Winter was the lucky winner. The raffle raised over $800 for the KTTC! Thanks to all who bought and sold tickets!
Here are a few of the projects we have undertaken:
* We raffled off a print donated by well-known area wildlife artist Michael Dumas
* We have new T-shirts for sale, designed by Lindsey Woodcock of Bowmanville High School and produced by Ricart’s of Peterborough.
* We have ordered our 2010 calendars.
* We are in the process of applying for several grants to help defray costs.
* We are embarking on a membership and donation drive, including a push for more corporate support.
* We are planning a major event for May 2010 to mark World Turtle Day.
Our fund-raising committee meets regularly to assess our progress, set goals and review our long list of fund-raising ideas. We are constantly on the alert for new and innovative ways to find funds and to give our supporters “turtle conservation value” for their money. There is ALWAYS room for more ideas; more volunteers and more public exposure.
Our members are our greatest asset and we are counting on you this year especially to help us extend our reach by doubling our membership. We have about 70 members on record. If each of those 70 people recruited one other member, we would raise enough money for one month’s rent and utilities (about $2,000). That’s a pretty good return for output, when you consider that the work is spread among 70 people – about five minutes of time and effort out of a month for each person.
A closing note: We have succeeded in keeping turtle care front and centre despite financial and logistical changes and challenges that would have stopped many organizations in their tracks. We have never lost sight of our core mandate – helping injured native turtles, and we promise we will keep that responsibility clear and consistent.
We have no choice but to succeed.
Turtle Taxi
By Gina Varrin
This spring the KTTC was faced with many challenges – as a result of moving to a new facility and taking on a new vet we had no hospital equipment on site. The timing couldn’t have been worse, because without hospital equipment we cannot provide emergency care to new patients at the centre. As turtle nesting season approached, several supporters came forward to help us come up with a solution. The Toronto Wildlife Centre and Midland Wildlife Centre both offered to intake and treat any turtles that we could get to them, and several amazing individuals and families volunteered to found the Turtle Taxi program.
As turtles were dropped off at the Riverview Park and Zoo volunteer drivers were contacted to transport the turtles to the Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC). Many drivers volunteered to be on call one day a week, and several more made themselves available as back-ups. The Turtle Taxi made it possible to consistently transport turtles from Peterborough to the veterinarians at TWC in under 24 hours. This summer over 50 turtles made the trek to the TWC! Once out of critical condition they were transported back to Peterborough for long term care at the KTTC’s new facility, and will be released as soon as they have fully recovered.
Anne Trimm, the Taxi coordinator, would like to extend a great big thank you to everyone who helped make the Turtle Taxi Program a success – we couldn’t have done it without you!
* The volunteer drivers, who gave their time, energy, and fuel to transport turtles to Toronto
* Jack Sisson and the staff at the Riverview Park and Zoo for being a drop-off location (for the eighth year in a row!!!)
* Toronto Wildlife Centre for treating our patients, and the Midland Wildlife Centre for offering help in our time of need
* Annita Newell, for coordinating the taxi while Anne was on vacation
* The many concerned citizens who took the time to drop injured turtles off to us.
MANY Thanks!
By Gina Varrin
First of all, we’d like to thank our members for all your support this year. We had record attendance at our Annual General Meeting, and also received a record number of proxy voting forms from many who couldn’t make it in person. Those of you who were at the AGM provided excellent feedback regarding our finances, fundraising, and other ways we can engage members in the future. Many longtime members have begun volunteering on fundraising projects with the newly formed fundraising committee!
A special thank you from the KTTC to:
~ Our Auditor Jan Jamieson
~ Former board member Bill Cole for advice on fundraising and financial matters
Thank you Dr. Kristy Hiltz for your role in founding the centre and for years of hard work as a volunteer vet! We wish you all the best with your new practice, Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital!
Creative Contributions
Our supporters have been coming up all kinds of creative ways to raise money for the KTTC. The Nonchalants a highshool band from Oshawa raised $100 for the KTTC at a benefit concert last summer.
For more about the band visit: http://www.myspace.com/thethenonchalants
Grateful for our Grantors:
We’re pleased to announce that the KTTC has been awarded a grant for $4,975 from the Shell Environmental Fund for hospital equipment. We’ve also received a $5,000 grant from the TD Friends of the Environment Fund!
Spotlight on the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)
By Jennifer Andrews
This month the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre’s star is the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica). As of 2002, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) had listed the Northern Map Turtle as a species of special concern. The Northern Map Turtle is also protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which means that the turtle is 'protected from being hunted, trapped, held in captivity or traded without a license'. Nests are also protected from destruction, disturbance, or alteration.
Map turtles are a shy and wary species, quickly diving into the water when approached, making them difficult to spot. So how do you know if it is a map turtle? The carapace is an olive to brown tone with light yellow markings resembling canals and waterways on a map; hence it is called a map turtle. These markings are brightest on juveniles and fade as the turtles mature. The body (head, neck and legs) is a dark olive green with yellow longitudinal stripes, which may sometimes look somewhat green. Each turtle also has a yellow spot behind the eye. Male turtles reach an average carapace length of 14cm where females reach a carapace length of 25cm long.
The Northern Map Turtle can be found around the Great Lakes Basin and the St. Lawrence River in both the northeastern United States and Canada. This turtle will reach its most northern limit in the south of Ontario and in the southwest part of Quebec. Northern Map turtles prefer larger bodies of water, but can be found in lake, rivers, ponds and creeks. They prefer habitats with plenty of aquatic vegetation, muddy bottoms and slow moving currents. Since the Northern Map Turtle is nocturnal and can be slightly active at dawn and dusk, they need basking sites where they can spend most of the day sleeping. Their primary food source is mussels, but will also eat other things occasionally. Hibernation occurs, although these turtles are slow to hibernate and my be seen wandering under the ice of frozen lakes after early cold snaps, in October and finishes in April. Hibernation is a group event because breeding occurs during this period of time. During June and July females will then travel far inland to lay their clutches of 10 to 16 eggs, with hatchlings emerging in August to September.
The Northern Map Turtle’s distribution coincides with the most populated and developed areas in Ontario and Quebec. The loss of habitat and the use of the waterways for recreation are two of the most substantial threats to this species. Also, the control of water levels and flow may be flooding nesting sites and changing the environment, which these turtles have adapted to. Due to the eating habits of the Northern Map Turtle, they are very susceptible to the accumulation of heavy metals and other toxins. Finally, just like many other species of turtle, it may also be found in the wildlife trade as either food or as pets.
By having the Northern Map Turtle under ‘special concern’ by COSEWIC makes us aware of the impact that we are having on not only this species of turtle, but other species as well. By understanding this impact we can make a conscious effort to conserve what habitat these animals have left but to appreciate what amazing creatures they really are. Hopefully, we can make a difference.
Turtles, Citizen Science, and YOU!
By Peter Kowalski
What do you think of when you hear the term “Citizen Science”? The term citizen science refers to work done by volunteers, which usually don’t have formal scientific training on projects involving scientific study - often in their own backyards. Didn’t spend 4 years and $25k on a degree in Biology and still want to help out? No problem! Citizen science projects allow for anyone with drive and passion to help out.
Citizen science can involve observation, assisting in the collection of data as well as even managing data. One of the most successful and well-known citizen science projects is the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, which in its most recent addition had over 1.2 million individual breeding bird records and a total of 150,000 volunteer hours logged from people all over Ontario just like you! These records have come together to create an extremely comprehensive record of bird distributions.
A great thing about citizen science projects is that projects can engage communities to help out and learn more about their local environment, as well as science. But the positives don’t just stop there. As you could probably guess, scientific monitoring can be very expensive– paying researchers, buying equipment, vehicles and fuel costs a lot of money. With the help of citizens, scientific studies can be conducted over a long period of time and over a large area for a fraction of the cost!
There are citizen science projects in Ontario related to turtles too! Some notable projects are the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary Atlas, the Trent-Severn Waterway’s Turtle Hotline and the Toronto Zoo’s Turtle Tally. All of these projects involve citizens of Ontario reporting the turtles they happen to see – while on the water, at the cottage, on the side of the road, even unfortunate road mortality is important to report.
All of these programs report their turtle sightings to the NHIC, which uses the information to create detailed distribution maps of the province's amphibians and reptiles for a project known as the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary Atlas, much like the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, so the same sighting only needs to be reported once. However, The Trent-Severn’s Turtle Hotline sightings are also used to determine areas that could be further researched and protected along the waterway. So if the turtle you saw is on the waterway, call their hotline!
When reporting a turtle, it is best to try to identify it to the best of your ability. If you are unsure of the species, describe it in your report. It’s a good idea to include a photo whenever possible so that the species identification can be confirmed by an expert. The location is the next most important thing to report. The more specific you can get, the better (so break out that GPS!). The date and behaviour of the turtle(s) sighted is also important to report. Also, if you are specifically looking for turtles and can’t find any, it is important to know as well.
Citizen Science is an important and useful way to find out where turtle habitat is, so we can better protect and manage these areas. And best of all, it’s a lot of fun to do with family and friends!
Moving on to a Bigger and Better Space
We Have No Choice but to Succeed!
Turtle Taxi
Many Thanks!
Spotlight on the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)
Turtles, Citizen Science, and YOU!
Moving on to a Bigger and Better Space
By Danielle Tassie
Have you ever gone house hunting for a place that holds 70 turtles? If so, you’ll understand the daunting task that faced the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre’s board of directors this past winter and spring. After four years in a very generously donated space, it was time to move on. The existing building was needed for another business, and with a new rehabber on staff and an onsite hospital area in the works, the Turtle Centre needed to find a bigger home.
Generally quiet animals, turtles do have certain needs – like a good water supply, lots of electrical outlets (for lights and heaters) – plus a space that can accommodate surgery and other medical treatments, a kitchen area, storage, and space for volunteers. As a non-profit organization that relies on private donations, the ideal budget is cheap to free.
Board members searched long and hard for a building that met at least most of these requirements. Once it was found – a two story warehouse in Peterborough’s south end –preparations for moving began. Paul McLeod (property manager of 724 Erskine) deserves a big hand for getting our new building turtle-ready under tight timelines!
The board is grateful for the support of several indivduals who assisted with our search and securing the new facility. Doug Lytle, a commercial real estate agent with Century 21, advised us on finding an appropriate property and deciphering lease arrangements. Lawyers Tracey Henry, Ian Attridge, Roger Howson and John Bartley all offered free legal advice on our move.
We would also like to thank The Trent Severn Waterway for offering an alternate space. We were unable to take them up on their offer due to timing and space requirements. We all know how hard it can be to find enough friends & family willing to give up a weekend to help move. But when it’s time for turtles to move house, it turns out that people are more than willing to lend a hand.
Moving day was Saturday May 2nd, and over 25 people from Peterborough, Norwood, Oshawa, Toronto and everywhere in between, came out to help. From morning until well past midnight, volunteers cleaned out the old centre, moved tanks, filters, carried impossibly heavy shelving, medical supplies, and worked tirelessly on setting up turtle tanks at the new centre. It was still too early in the year to release last year’s patients, so a few lucky volunteers even got to drive containers full of Snapping, Painted, Map, and Blanding’sTurtles across town.
Moving day went so smoothly because of the help of so many volunteers – so many people willing to spend their Saturday supporting the turtles and the KTTC!
Local businesses also pitched in, and thanks go out to:
* Peterborough Automotive and Machine LTD
* Breathe Easy Duct Cleaning
* Prentice Lift Truck Inc.
Thanks are also due to Kip Parker for travelling from Toronto and, not only bringing us all a delicious lunch, working from morning to night on setting up the headstarting room for the Wood Turtle Recovery Project.
The KTTC would like to extend a huge thank you to John Burman and Scott Andersen of Burman & Fellows Group – for their generous donation of space and utlities during the past 4 years, and for their help setting up the new centre. Their generosity has made it possible for the KTTC to treat and care for so many turtles over the years.
In the midst of the move, the KTTC also proudly welcomed new license holder and veterinarian Sue Carstairs. Sue is busy setting up a hospital area in the new centre, so that more of the surgery and medical care of turtles can be done in-house, and the KTTC can increase the number of turtles that receive care at the centre each year.
The big move coincided with turtle nesting season - the Turtle Centre’s busiest time for intaking and treating injured turtles. Until everything is up and running and the new hospital area is completed, intakes have not been possible. The Turtle Centre would like to thank the wildlife rehab centres who have been increasing their intake of injured turtles (particularly the Toronto Wildlife Centre, and the Midland SPCA), and the local KTTC Turtle Taxi drivers, who have worked hard at getting local turtles further afield for surgery, and back to Peterborough for their long term care.
It is a time of upheaval, but also of great excitement and new possibilities for the Turtle Centre. A new building lease, staff and expanding programs means more costs for the KTTC. If you would like to support the centre and its work caring for injured turtles, and spreading the word about turtles in Ontario, please visit our website to become a member, or you can donate or online at www.canadahelps.org (search for Kawartha Turtle) or by mailing a cheque to KTTC c/o Riverview Park and Zoo, PO Box 4125 Peterborough ON K9J 6Z5.
We Have No Choice But to Succeed!
By Annita Newell and the dedicated volunteers of the KTTC Fundraising Committee
It’s the perennial question for charities – how do we find the funds to keep our work going?
For the KTTC, that became a more immediate and urgent question this spring when our rent-free status ended. We now face the prospect of having to find a lot of money to pay market rent for our turtle hospital and rehab centre. To put it in real terms – we were paying zero dollars for our former building; now we must find $1,600 each month for rent!
But, true to the indomitable spirit of the KTTC since its birth, we have looked at the mountain and started the climb with our eyes on the top.
In short order we have reorganized our financial goals, formed a strong, active and keen core fund-raising committee and come up with at least two dozen great ideas to raise money -- from the most modest to most ambitious.
Thank you to Michael Dumas who donated a beautiful giclee print for the KTTC to raffle. The draw was held on May 22 at the Riverview Park and Zoo. Gary Winter was the lucky winner. The raffle raised over $800 for the KTTC! Thanks to all who bought and sold tickets!
Here are a few of the projects we have undertaken:
* We raffled off a print donated by well-known area wildlife artist Michael Dumas
* We have new T-shirts for sale, designed by Lindsey Woodcock of Bowmanville High School and produced by Ricart’s of Peterborough.
* We have ordered our 2010 calendars.
* We are in the process of applying for several grants to help defray costs.
* We are embarking on a membership and donation drive, including a push for more corporate support.
* We are planning a major event for May 2010 to mark World Turtle Day.
Our fund-raising committee meets regularly to assess our progress, set goals and review our long list of fund-raising ideas. We are constantly on the alert for new and innovative ways to find funds and to give our supporters “turtle conservation value” for their money. There is ALWAYS room for more ideas; more volunteers and more public exposure.
Our members are our greatest asset and we are counting on you this year especially to help us extend our reach by doubling our membership. We have about 70 members on record. If each of those 70 people recruited one other member, we would raise enough money for one month’s rent and utilities (about $2,000). That’s a pretty good return for output, when you consider that the work is spread among 70 people – about five minutes of time and effort out of a month for each person.
A closing note: We have succeeded in keeping turtle care front and centre despite financial and logistical changes and challenges that would have stopped many organizations in their tracks. We have never lost sight of our core mandate – helping injured native turtles, and we promise we will keep that responsibility clear and consistent.
We have no choice but to succeed.
Turtle Taxi
By Gina Varrin
This spring the KTTC was faced with many challenges – as a result of moving to a new facility and taking on a new vet we had no hospital equipment on site. The timing couldn’t have been worse, because without hospital equipment we cannot provide emergency care to new patients at the centre. As turtle nesting season approached, several supporters came forward to help us come up with a solution. The Toronto Wildlife Centre and Midland Wildlife Centre both offered to intake and treat any turtles that we could get to them, and several amazing individuals and families volunteered to found the Turtle Taxi program.
As turtles were dropped off at the Riverview Park and Zoo volunteer drivers were contacted to transport the turtles to the Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC). Many drivers volunteered to be on call one day a week, and several more made themselves available as back-ups. The Turtle Taxi made it possible to consistently transport turtles from Peterborough to the veterinarians at TWC in under 24 hours. This summer over 50 turtles made the trek to the TWC! Once out of critical condition they were transported back to Peterborough for long term care at the KTTC’s new facility, and will be released as soon as they have fully recovered.
Anne Trimm, the Taxi coordinator, would like to extend a great big thank you to everyone who helped make the Turtle Taxi Program a success – we couldn’t have done it without you!
* The volunteer drivers, who gave their time, energy, and fuel to transport turtles to Toronto
* Jack Sisson and the staff at the Riverview Park and Zoo for being a drop-off location (for the eighth year in a row!!!)
* Toronto Wildlife Centre for treating our patients, and the Midland Wildlife Centre for offering help in our time of need
* Annita Newell, for coordinating the taxi while Anne was on vacation
* The many concerned citizens who took the time to drop injured turtles off to us.
MANY Thanks!
By Gina Varrin
First of all, we’d like to thank our members for all your support this year. We had record attendance at our Annual General Meeting, and also received a record number of proxy voting forms from many who couldn’t make it in person. Those of you who were at the AGM provided excellent feedback regarding our finances, fundraising, and other ways we can engage members in the future. Many longtime members have begun volunteering on fundraising projects with the newly formed fundraising committee!
A special thank you from the KTTC to:
~ Our Auditor Jan Jamieson
~ Former board member Bill Cole for advice on fundraising and financial matters
Thank you Dr. Kristy Hiltz for your role in founding the centre and for years of hard work as a volunteer vet! We wish you all the best with your new practice, Sherbrooke Heights Animal Hospital!
Creative ContributionsOur supporters have been coming up all kinds of creative ways to raise money for the KTTC. The Nonchalants a highshool band from Oshawa raised $100 for the KTTC at a benefit concert last summer.
For more about the band visit: http://www.myspace.com/thethenonchalants
Grateful for our Grantors:
We’re pleased to announce that the KTTC has been awarded a grant for $4,975 from the Shell Environmental Fund for hospital equipment. We’ve also received a $5,000 grant from the TD Friends of the Environment Fund!
Spotlight on the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica)
By Jennifer Andrews
This month the Kawartha Turtle Trauma Centre’s star is the Northern Map Turtle (Graptemys geographica). As of 2002, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) had listed the Northern Map Turtle as a species of special concern. The Northern Map Turtle is also protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, which means that the turtle is 'protected from being hunted, trapped, held in captivity or traded without a license'. Nests are also protected from destruction, disturbance, or alteration.
Map turtles are a shy and wary species, quickly diving into the water when approached, making them difficult to spot. So how do you know if it is a map turtle? The carapace is an olive to brown tone with light yellow markings resembling canals and waterways on a map; hence it is called a map turtle. These markings are brightest on juveniles and fade as the turtles mature. The body (head, neck and legs) is a dark olive green with yellow longitudinal stripes, which may sometimes look somewhat green. Each turtle also has a yellow spot behind the eye. Male turtles reach an average carapace length of 14cm where females reach a carapace length of 25cm long.
The Northern Map Turtle can be found around the Great Lakes Basin and the St. Lawrence River in both the northeastern United States and Canada. This turtle will reach its most northern limit in the south of Ontario and in the southwest part of Quebec. Northern Map turtles prefer larger bodies of water, but can be found in lake, rivers, ponds and creeks. They prefer habitats with plenty of aquatic vegetation, muddy bottoms and slow moving currents. Since the Northern Map Turtle is nocturnal and can be slightly active at dawn and dusk, they need basking sites where they can spend most of the day sleeping. Their primary food source is mussels, but will also eat other things occasionally. Hibernation occurs, although these turtles are slow to hibernate and my be seen wandering under the ice of frozen lakes after early cold snaps, in October and finishes in April. Hibernation is a group event because breeding occurs during this period of time. During June and July females will then travel far inland to lay their clutches of 10 to 16 eggs, with hatchlings emerging in August to September.
The Northern Map Turtle’s distribution coincides with the most populated and developed areas in Ontario and Quebec. The loss of habitat and the use of the waterways for recreation are two of the most substantial threats to this species. Also, the control of water levels and flow may be flooding nesting sites and changing the environment, which these turtles have adapted to. Due to the eating habits of the Northern Map Turtle, they are very susceptible to the accumulation of heavy metals and other toxins. Finally, just like many other species of turtle, it may also be found in the wildlife trade as either food or as pets.
By having the Northern Map Turtle under ‘special concern’ by COSEWIC makes us aware of the impact that we are having on not only this species of turtle, but other species as well. By understanding this impact we can make a conscious effort to conserve what habitat these animals have left but to appreciate what amazing creatures they really are. Hopefully, we can make a difference.
Turtles, Citizen Science, and YOU!
By Peter Kowalski
What do you think of when you hear the term “Citizen Science”? The term citizen science refers to work done by volunteers, which usually don’t have formal scientific training on projects involving scientific study - often in their own backyards. Didn’t spend 4 years and $25k on a degree in Biology and still want to help out? No problem! Citizen science projects allow for anyone with drive and passion to help out.
Citizen science can involve observation, assisting in the collection of data as well as even managing data. One of the most successful and well-known citizen science projects is the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, which in its most recent addition had over 1.2 million individual breeding bird records and a total of 150,000 volunteer hours logged from people all over Ontario just like you! These records have come together to create an extremely comprehensive record of bird distributions.
A great thing about citizen science projects is that projects can engage communities to help out and learn more about their local environment, as well as science. But the positives don’t just stop there. As you could probably guess, scientific monitoring can be very expensive– paying researchers, buying equipment, vehicles and fuel costs a lot of money. With the help of citizens, scientific studies can be conducted over a long period of time and over a large area for a fraction of the cost!
There are citizen science projects in Ontario related to turtles too! Some notable projects are the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary Atlas, the Trent-Severn Waterway’s Turtle Hotline and the Toronto Zoo’s Turtle Tally. All of these projects involve citizens of Ontario reporting the turtles they happen to see – while on the water, at the cottage, on the side of the road, even unfortunate road mortality is important to report.
All of these programs report their turtle sightings to the NHIC, which uses the information to create detailed distribution maps of the province's amphibians and reptiles for a project known as the Ontario Herpetofaunal Summary Atlas, much like the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Ontario, so the same sighting only needs to be reported once. However, The Trent-Severn’s Turtle Hotline sightings are also used to determine areas that could be further researched and protected along the waterway. So if the turtle you saw is on the waterway, call their hotline!
When reporting a turtle, it is best to try to identify it to the best of your ability. If you are unsure of the species, describe it in your report. It’s a good idea to include a photo whenever possible so that the species identification can be confirmed by an expert. The location is the next most important thing to report. The more specific you can get, the better (so break out that GPS!). The date and behaviour of the turtle(s) sighted is also important to report. Also, if you are specifically looking for turtles and can’t find any, it is important to know as well.
Citizen Science is an important and useful way to find out where turtle habitat is, so we can better protect and manage these areas. And best of all, it’s a lot of fun to do with family and friends!
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