The Hidden Life of the Common Snake-necked Turtle

Threats occurring beyond the wetland border are often unrecognized in wetland conservation plans despite the demonstrated importance of terrestrial habitats for many reptiles. In this study, we are investigating the terrestrial ecology and movements of a freshwater turtle and assessing whether roads influence turtle population structure, either via direct mortality or as barriers to movement. Determining whether roads and other terrestrial habitat modifications pose significant risks to wetland animals will provide information directed at more effective management of aquatic resources and associated fauna in human-altered landscapes.

The growing demands for development and management of aquatic resources to support human activities have resulted in the decline, disappearance, or alteration of freshwater wetlands and associated faunal communities worldwide. In response to such declines, conservationists have made significant gains in wetland protection, but efforts are typically directed at preventing further loss of wetlands and rarely consider landscape-level factors such as the quality of adjacent terrestrial habitats. Conservation strategies of such narrow focus potentially neglect the requirements of animals that rely on movements about the wider landscape and that use terrestrial habitats for critical behaviours or phases of their life cycle.

Reptiles, and turtles in particular, are a group for which many species have a complex interaction with both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Turtles often use aquatic habitats for foraging and mating, but require movement through or extended refuge within terrestrial habitats for many critical activities including nesting, aestivation, hibernation, migration and dispersal. While these aspects of reptile ecology are well known by herpetologists, such information has not been sufficiently conveyed across disciplines (e.g., to wetlands scientists and conservation biologists), and it is no surprise that land managers and policy makers rarely consider the requirements of this component of wetland communities in management decisions.

longneck Photo In addition to the threats of wetland destruction and degradation, aquatic turtles are likely to encounter significant challenges and risks in terrestrial habitats. One such challenge is the network of roads that has now become a pervasive component of most landscapes. Roads are one terrestrial habitat modification that could extend threats beyond the wetland border and contribute to population regulation, either through direct mortality or as a movement barrier.

The broad aim of this investigation is to examine the terrestrial ecology and movements of the eastern snake-necked turtle, Chelodina longicollis, with the ultimate goal of assessing the impacts of terrestrial habitat modification for this freshwater species. Radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture studies are currently underway and are revealing the secret terrestrial lives of this species. Movements between numerous wetlands and extended forays into distant terrestrial habitats appear to be integral aspects of the ecology of C. longicollis. Based on the radio-telemetry and capture-mark-recapture findings, we then plan to estimate regional road associated mortality in southeastern Australia by modeling movements on maps of wetlands and road networks in a Geographic Information System. Finally, we will test the predictions of the model by examining turtle population structure (relative abundance, age and size class, sex ratios, injury incidence, and genetic diversity) in wetlands that differ in the density of roads occurring in the surrounding terrestrial landscape.

This study will contribute to our knowledge of the complex interaction that aquatic reptiles may have with both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. In doing so, this study will highlight threats to freshwater turtles and identify management actions and interventions that will enhance conservation efforts for wetland fauna both on and off reserve.

For further information, contact

John Roe,
Institute for Applied Ecology,
University of Canberra, ACT 2601
Phone (02) 62015786 Email "surname"@aerg.canberra.edu.au
or download our Research Flyer.

		Professor Arthur Georges Institute for Applied Ecology University of Canberra, ACT 2601, AUSTRALIA Telephone: + 61 2 6201 5786 Facsimile: +61 2 6201 5305 Email: "surname"@aerg.canberra.edu.au
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