PACIFIC POND TURTLE

ZOE GILLIGAN

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CURATED BY ZOE GILLIGAN !

ECOLOGY / SCIENCE FIFTH PERIOD MR. COREY

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!**WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW** !

-> Scientifically known as “actinemys marmorata”, the Pacific Pond Turtle is a reptile extirpated

from the British Columbia region of Canada. !-> This species has not officially been seen in Canada since 1959, therefore it is extirpated. !

-> The rest of its kind can now mostly be found in California, but in Washington and Oregon as well. !

-> The Pacific Pond Turtle’s shell is adorned with a marble pattern. !

-> Its size is accepted as a medium/regular one.

-> Both males and females have very similar sizing proportions.

-> Its color palette consists of olive, dark brown,

black, and possibly some yellow and gray hues.

-> They are shy creatures and have excellent eyesight. !

THE PACIFIC

-> This species resides in lethargic streams, wide rivers, and sloughs.

-> These bodies of water are normally rocky and mud-filled. !-> To escape predators, Pacific Pond Turtles seek deep pools and large, leftover shlock from the woods. !-> These turtles can survive seasonal droughts apparently through moving to pools and laying idle in the mud.

POND TURTLE

!!!!!-> While females tend to have more of a vegetation diet and the males tend to be more carnivorous, they both are omnivores because their diets consist of plants and algae to fish and snakes. ! !!

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EXTIRPATION!!

verb | ex·tir·pate | \ˈek-stər-ˌpāt\!!

to destroy or remove (something) completely; to pull up something by the root; to cut out something by surgery.

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-> The Pacific Pond Turtle is extirpated.

-> It, as a whole species, still exists, but it can no longer be found in British Columbia.

-> Why? It was prime prey for reaping of food

in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; hence a mammoth drop in population.

-> Also, their habitat is continually ruined

because of North America’s high agricultural and urban demands. !!!!!

!!!!!Threats to the Pacific Pond Turtle:

!-> urban growth (i.e. residential development,

which equals loss of habitat) -> agriculture and aquaculture (irreversible loss

of habitat) -> public transportation (loss of habitat)

-> commercial exploitation -> human intrusions

-> human water usage (modifying their water to adapt to our needs)

-> pollution -> global warming (climate change) !!

What’s Being Done?!!

-> Bringing the Pacific Pond Turtle back to British Columbia is dependent on the success of Washington

stabilizing their own. !-> They would achieve translocation from WA to BC, and establish a natural, secure population enterprise on

the coast once again. !-> As this all depends on WA, their current recovery

efforts include: -> habitat acquisition

-> enhancement -> surveys

-> toxicology research -> reducing mortality with young turtles

-> predator removal -> translocations !

-> Thus far, all has been successful, even though they haven’t quite stabilized a self-sustaining population. !-> Recovering and stabilizing those populations could

lead to an organic recolonization in BC.

SOURCES!!

IMAGES !-> http://www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp?

lang=En&n=664296DD-1 -> http://www.zoochat.com/39/pacific-pond-turtle-89818/ -> http://hikingwithhank.weebly.com/sunol-12013.html

-> http://wardial.me/~rsandelin/Fieldguide/Animalpages/Reptiles/Reptiles.htm

-> http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/?showtopic=33393 -> http://www.naherp.com/photo.php?v_id=3510

-> http://www.streamteam.info/localstreams/wildlife/amphibian/pondturtle/

-> http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flickr_-_Oregon_Department_of_Fish_%26_Wildlife_-_5160_western_pond_turtle_swart_odfw.jpg

-> https://pnwfieldguide.wikispaces.com/Western+Pond+Turtle http://hikingwithhank.weebly.com/sunol-12013.html !!!

WORDS !-> Government of Canada (2015, March 15). Recovery Strategy for the Pacific Pond Turtle (Actinemys marmorata) in Canada - 2015 - [Proposed]. Retrieved from http:// www.registrelep-sararegistry.gc.ca/default.asp? lang=En&n=664296DD-1 !-> Government of Canada (2015, May 25). Species Profile: Pacific Pond Turtle. Retrieved from http:// www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm? sid=710 !-> Thompson Rivers University, British Columbia Ministry of Environment (2007, October 30). Western (Northern Pacific) Pond Turtle. Retrieved from http:// www.bcreptiles.ca/turtles/westernpond.htm