Scientists try to help humble turtles stay afloat

Cowboy_Ken

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By Darlena Cunha, Florida, Gainesville Sun, Correspondent
Published: Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 12:38 p.m.


In the spring and fall of each year, dozens of tiny turtles scramble through grass, around oaks and under fences in the Gainesville area, trying desperately to get to a waterway. Often, their path intersects with a street and cars slow down or move around them.
Sometimes, they are crushed into the asphalt.
Getting past the juvenile stage as a turtle is tough around here, but if they do, the creatures can have a lifespan of 30 years or more, according to Dr. Ken Dodd, courtesy associate professor of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida.
But even adult turtles must survive a plethora of dangers to make it through each day.
“They’ve got a lot of things going against them. A lot of the babies are hit by cars, and the nests taken by predators,” said George Heinrich, a wildlife biologist, environmental educator and founder of Heinrich Ecological Services.
Add to that human development and trapping, and conservationists say the outlook of turtle survival becomes grimmer.
Jerry Johnston, a professor of biology at Santa Fe College, spends his days monitoring the turtle populations in the Santa Fe River and the springs, where they play an important ecological role. The Suwannee cooter, for example, eats the invasive plant species hydrilla, which (along with algae) becomes abundant when nitrate levels in the water increase and effectively ruins the springs as we know them today.
But turtles’ value extends beyond those specific waterways.
“Turtles play an important role in Gainesville’s food webs,” Johnston said. “Some species, like snapping turtles, are scavengers. They are the unsung heroes of populations, going around and keeping things clean. Other species are very important in seed dispersals to help create healthy plant populations.”
Gainesville has 13 native turtle species, according to Johnston. Within Alachua County, there are 15 different native turtle species, and all of them are helping to keep ecosystems in check by eating and being eaten, or simply by building their own homes.
“The gopher tortoises dig burrows for themselves, but when they move on, those tunnels provide homes for hundreds of other animal species,” Johnston explained.
Those burrows, however, face grave danger in the form of human construction and development.
“Developers want to build on high, dry ground, and that’s where the tortoises live,” said Heinrich. “These days, if you want to develop on a hatching ground, you have to relocate the turtles. You can’t just build over them. We used to allow people to just bury them alive.”
Heinrich said that while there are certain protections in place now for the turtles, many people ignore them. “Right now, there are fines if you do build on top of turtles, but the laws have to be enforced, and there has to be concrete evidence that it happened,” he said. “By the time the paperwork catches up, the turtles are gone.”
The scientists said residents trapping turtles is another large threat to the population. Whether turtles are getting caught in crab traps unintentionally or being purposefully hunted for food, many river turtles never make it out alive. And when they’re on land, it can be even worse.
“One of the major hazards for turtles is all these roads we have around here,” Johnston said. “Someone could pick up a turtle and take it home as a pet, or it gets run over.”
The scientists agree that if you see a turtle trying to cross the street, you should help it across, but only move it in the direction it was already going. Heinrich says many people make the mistake of taking a turtle and tossing it in the nearest pond, where it may or may not belong.
“Don’t try to think for the turtle,” Johnston said. “It knows what it’s doing.”
Dodd warned not to hold turtles too close to their heads or you could get bitten, and said always use extreme caution when moving them through traffic, as there have been human fatalities on the roads when do-gooders attempt to save turtles. Johnston also emphasized that there are multiple ways to help our important turtle population.
“Never take turtles home as pets. If you’re in a boat on a lake or a river, drive slowly. Don’t hit the turtles with your boat. It sounds like common sense, but I’ve seen hundreds of turtles horribly damaged by boats driving too fast.
“Don’t eat turtles. It is illegal to eat turtles. As much as possible, leave the turtles alone; they will figure out what to do. There are springs on the Santa Fe River that serve as nurseries for the turtles, so do whatever you can to preserve the springs.”
Johnston said his mission is to figure out how our turtles survive in a human-dominated landscape.
“Some do well, others not so much, but most people never give the turtles a second thought,” he said. “We’ve got something really special here that a lot of people take for granted.”
 

puffy137

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Reminds me of Watership Down. Its about rabbits being forced from their homes. I get the feeling humans are taking over everything & messing the planet up so much it will never recover.:(:(:(
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Reminds me of Watership Down. Its about rabbits being forced from their homes. I get the feeling humans are taking over everything & messing the planet up so much it will never recover.:(:(:([/QUOT
I loved Watership Down. Great book.
Tortoises here in Morocco are threatened by habitat loss and poaching. It is unlikely they'll survive in the wild for much longer.
Saw dozens of babies for sale in the medina yesterday, all taken from the countryside.
All very sad.
 

puffy137

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Are desert countries in the same state of encroachment as the cramped UK or even the States ? I know many species have disappeared & become extinct from the deserts , seems the only things left are snakes scorpions & some lizards. We had a large lizard which lived at the farm. the arabs call it a Thub. Its about the same size as a cat. Most mammals have gone like deer & other creatures , but foxes seem to survive in Saudi Arabia , saw them in the headlights when we motored through. Never heard of Tortoises in this part of Arabia. What would Moroccans do with tortoises , surely they don't eat them ?
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Are desert countries in the same state of encroachment as the cramped UK or even the States ? I know many species have disappeared & become extinct from the deserts , seems the only things left are snakes scorpions & some lizards. We had a large lizard which lived at the farm. the arabs call it a Thub. Its about the same size as a cat. Most mammals have gone like deer & other creatures , but foxes seem to survive in Saudi Arabia , saw them in the headlights when we motored through. Never heard of Tortoises in this part of Arabia. What would Moroccans do with tortoises , surely they don't eat them ?
In a few remote countryside villages they eat them, but not here in the city.
Here the people buy them for the children as toys and watch them kill them. Then they buy another.
Their habitats are also being destroyed for use as agricultural land and though the government have promised to step in, they have done nothing. Foxes are just shot and lizards, especially geckos are considered evil and killed on sight.
Despite the Quran and especially many Hadith insisting on kindness to animals, most Moroccans simply can't understand the concept. They believe Allah gave man animals to do with as you will and only human life is important. They don't generally believe in evolution and simply refuse to accept man is an animal too. It's not quite hopeless and I have converted a few, but it's like trying to stop the tide. Ultimately futile.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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I thank you both for providing valuable insights into areas of the planet many of us will only experience on television. We really are, “one, big a$$ happy family. Under one, big a$$ family tree!"
 

puffy137

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In a few remote countryside villages they eat them, but not here in the city.
Here the people buy them for the children as toys and watch them kill them. Then they buy another.
Their habitats are also being destroyed for use as agricultural land and though the government have promised to step in, they have done nothing. Foxes are just shot and lizards, especially geckos are considered evil and killed on sight.
Despite the Quran and especially many Hadith insisting on kindness to animals, most Moroccans simply can't understand the concept. They believe Allah gave man animals to do with as you will and only human life is important. They don't generally believe in evolution and simply refuse to accept man is an animal too. It's not quite hopeless and I have converted a few, but it's like trying to stop the tide. Ultimately futile.
morr
Here in the Gulf , things are rather different. We don't have the peasant/ bedouin population any more, as in larger arab countries. Urban life has taken the place of more rural lifestyles. Owls & geckos both have a bad rap. Owls considered bad luck, & a gecko's appearance is usually followed with a well aimed sandal . Geckos were once believed to cause food poisoning. I had one really fat one that often visited my kitchen , I called him Fred. He never did us any harm & I try to spread that piece of good news. lol. Our hedgehogs here are the sweetest little creatures , only found right out in the desert .They have fox-like faces .& unlike their European counterparts have no fleas . As superstition & old wives tales fade into the past , things are bound to improve for animals & humans .
 

Tidgy's Dad

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morr
Here in the Gulf , things are rather different. We don't have the peasant/ bedouin population any more, as in larger arab countries. Urban life has taken the place of more rural lifestyles. Owls & geckos both have a bad rap. Owls considered bad luck, & a gecko's appearance is usually followed with a well aimed sandal . Geckos were once believed to cause food poisoning. I had one really fat one that often visited my kitchen , I called him Fred. He never did us any harm & I try to spread that piece of good news. lol. Our hedgehogs here are the sweetest little creatures , only found right out in the desert .They have fox-like faces .& unlike their European counterparts have no fleas . As superstition & old wives tales fade into the past , things are bound to improve for animals & humans .
Hope you're right. it is urban where I live, but the people are rather rural in their outlook, but then I am a country peasant myself.
owls and geckos, same here, oh how often I've prevented the sandal landing. they eat hedgehogs and so do I on occasion. even eaten them in England.
We have Moorish geckos in the house in the summer and most welcome they are too.
 

puffy137

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Hahaha , you've eaten hedgehogs ??? Crickey you must have been on your beam ends to do that ! Country peasant ! I thought that was me , although I've never eaten rabbits or hedgehogs.:D
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Hahaha , you've eaten hedgehogs ??? Crickey you must have been on your beam ends to do that ! Country peasant ! I thought that was me , although I've never eaten rabbits or hedgehogs.:D
No, not at all, hedgehog baked in clay is traditional and rather nice and rabbit stew is yummy.
I am an animal lover, but also somewhat of a carnivore. i will eat anything, long as it's not on the endangered list!
Here they keep rabbits as 'pets'. Until they get hungry.
 

puffy137

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lol , I'm guessing you're from the southern counties of England , & that you have been somewhat of a searcher through your life. I was the same at 16, adventurous & go getting , luckily I landed safely . Biology sorted my life out for me. lol. My house bunny Madeline is a fixture now , my son often smiles & mentions Melookia bil Araneb , a famous Egyptian dish , poor bunny .:D:D:D Here she is 'guarding' the front door .2015-03-12 09.32.10.jpg
 

Tidgy's Dad

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lol , I'm guessing you're from the southern counties of England , & that you have been somewhat of a searcher through your life. I was the same at 16, adventurous & go getting , luckily I landed safely . Biology sorted my life out for me. lol. My house bunny Madeline is a fixture now , my son often smiles & mentions Melookia bil Araneb , a famous Egyptian dish , poor bunny .:D:D:D Here she is 'guarding' the front door .View attachment 122625
Lovely rabbit. Longish tail. Big girl, too.
Yes, I'm from near Cheddar in Somerset, SW England.
Indeed I was rather reckless and foolhardy. Lots of experience of the world. I too landed safely, thanks to my remarkable wife who keeps me grounded, but allows me my freedom too. I still have much i want to do.
 

puffy137

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Wow how lovely . I'm from Devon . although Great Granny told us that Granfer was a Zomerzet man . lol. There must be something in the air in Wessex that makes us restless to find whats over the next horizon . My darling ball & chain makes sure I keep my feet planted safely too. Elvis & Tonto were never within reach , so I took the next best thing. lol
 

Tidgy's Dad

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Wow how lovely . I'm from Devon . although Great Granny told us that Granfer was a Zomerzet man . lol. There must be something in the air in Wessex that makes us restless to find whats over the next horizon . My darling ball & chain makes sure I keep my feet planted safely too. Elvis & Tonto were never within reach , so I took the next best thing. lol
Well, hurrah for the West Country folks who live in Arab countries sub-forum. Can't be many of us. And hurrah for our partners too.
 

puffy137

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Right , Friday market for me now, I'm on the lookout for bits & pieces I can refurbish , love doing that. Take care , cheers !
 

erdavis

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I was actually born, raised and remain in gainesville. And I go to santa fe Nice to see somebody cares! It bothers me so much when there's a shelled creature on the side of the road on a busy highway and nobody stops to help it. And you know they see it too because they'll swerve around it and just keep goin. I understand some people have to go to work but there's others who can afford to slow their life down a bit to save a life. Personally if i was running late for work and i passed something like that I'd have to take a different way to and from work every day for a couple of weeks, if I even thought I saw dead animal remains on the road I wouldn't be able to live with myself knowing that I allowed that to happen. Not everybody's bad though. A couple months ago there was a tortoise in the middle of a not so busy road in a small town outside of gainesville. It had obviously been hit and the shell was cracked but alive. Its back leg was actually about a foot away from where he was By the time I talked my friend into turning around and going to it there was already a man who stopped to check on it. He called the wildlife place and they said they were already on their way because somebody already made a call about it I guess they couldn't stop to move it out of the road so nobody else hits it but at least they called!
 
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