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The Turtle Head Immobilization System (THIS): A Tool for Faster and Safer

Handling and Processing of Aggressive Turtle Species

Article  in  Amphibian and Reptile Conservation · December 2015

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IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):173–177•DEC2015

The Turtle Head Immobilization System (THIS): A Tool for Faster and Safer Handling

and Processing of Aggressive Turtle SpeciesEric C. Munscher1, Brian P. Butterfield2, Sue Carstairs3,MarcDupuis-Désormeaux4, Jessica Munscher5,WayneOsborne6,

and Brian Hauge7

1DepartmentofNaturalResources,SWCAEnvironmentalConsultants,Bridgeville,Pennsylvania15017(emunscher@swca.com)2DepartmentofBiology,Freed-HardemanUniversity,Henderson,Tennessee38340

3OntarioTurtleConservationCentre(OTCC),Peterborough,Ontario,CanadaK9J6X24DepartmentofBiology,YorkUniversity,4700KeeleStreet,Toronto,Ontario,CanadaM3J1P35NorthAmericanMartyrsCatholicSchool,2526HaymakerRd,Monroeville,Pennsylvania15146

6PineRidgeHighSchool926HowlandBlvd.Deltona,Florida327387DepartmentofBiology,PeninsulaCollege,PortAngeles,Washington98362

Abstract.—Theturtleheadimmobilizationtool(THIS)isanefficientandcosteffectivetooltoaidintheprocessingoflarge,aggressiveturtlessuchastheEasternSnappingTurtle(Chelydra serpentina).THISaidsinthereductionofaggres-sivebehaviorsbycalmingtheanimalduringprocessingandminimizinginjuriestotheturtleandhandlers.Thissimpletoolalsostreamlinestheprocessingitself,byallowingresearcherstofocusonmeasurementsandmarkings,insteadofhavingtomaintaintheconstantvigilanceoftenneededtoworksafelyaroundtheseanimals.

Key Words.—snappingturtle,head,immobilization,safety,processing.

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IRCF REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS • VOL15, NO 4 • DEC 2008 189TABLE OF CONTENTS

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

F E A T U R E A R T I C L E S

Chasing Bullsnakes (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in Wisconsin: On the Road to Understanding the Ecology and Conservation of the Midwest’s Giant Serpent ...................... Joshua M. Kapfer 190

The Shared History of Treeboas (Corallus grenadensis) and Humans on Grenada: A Hypothetical Excursion ............................................................................................................................Robert W. Henderson 198

R E S E A R C H A R T I C L E S

The Texas Horned Lizard in Central and Western Texas ....................... Emily Henry, Jason Brewer, Krista Mougey, and Gad Perry 204 The Knight Anole (Anolis equestris) in Florida

.............................................Brian J. Camposano, Kenneth L. Krysko, Kevin M. Enge, Ellen M. Donlan, and Michael Granatosky 212

C O N S E R V A T I O N A L E R T

World’s Mammals in Crisis ............................................................................................................................................................. 220 More Than Mammals ...................................................................................................................................................................... 223 The “Dow Jones Index” of Biodiversity ........................................................................................................................................... 225

H U S B A N D R Y

Captive Care of the Central Netted Dragon ....................................................................................................... Shannon Plummer 226

P R O F I L E

Kraig Adler: A Lifetime Promoting Herpetology ................................................................................................ Michael L. Treglia 234

C O M M E N T A R Y

The Turtles Have Been Watching Me ........................................................................................................................ Eric Gangloff 238

B O O K R E V I E W

Threatened Amphibians of the World edited by S.N. Stuart, M. Hoffmann, J.S. Chanson, N.A. Cox, R. Berridge, P. Ramani, and B.E. Young .............................................................................................................. Robert Powell 243

CONSERVATION RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Conservation Research Reports ................................. 245 NATURAL HISTORY RESEARCH REPORTS: Summaries of Published Reports on Natural History ................................. 247 NEWBRIEFS ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 248 EDITORIAL INFORMATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 251 FOCUS ON CONSERVATION: A Project You Can Support ............................................................................................... 252

Front Cover. Shannon Plummer.Totat et velleseque audant mo estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque moditia erere nonsedis ma sectiatur ma derrovitae voluptam, as quos accullabo.

Back Cover. Michael KernTotat et velleseque audant mo

estibus inveliquo velique rerchil erspienimus, quos accullabo. Ilibus

aut dolor apicto invere pe dolum fugiatis maionsequat eumque

moditia erere nonsedis ma sectia-tur ma derrovitae voluptam, as

IRC

F

REPTILES & AMPHIBIANSC O N S E R V AT I O N A N D N AT U R A L H I S T O R Y

Copyright©2015.EricC.Munscher.Allrightsreserved.

WWW.IRCF.ORG/REPTILESANDAMPHIBIANSJOURNAL

Whenhandlinganyliveanimal,twoprimarysafetyissuesmustbekeptinmind;first,thesafetyoftheperson

whoismanipulating,handling,orprocessingtheanimal,andsecond,thewellbeingoftheanimalitself(Schenideretal.2001).Wildanimalscaninflictserious,ifnotfatal,injuriestothepeoplewhoworkwiththem.Consequently,develop-ingtechniquesthat,whenproperlyused,cansafeguardbothanimalandoperatorisimportant(Fowler2011). Turtleresearchersoverthepast70yearshavedevisedmanydifferentwaystoprocessturtles(Meylan2006;Ferner2007;Weberetal.2011).Processing,whichincludesmark-ing,measuring,weighing,etc.ofmanyturtlespecies,poseslit-tlethreatofinjurytoeithertheturtleorresearcher.However,someNorthAmericanspeciessuchasfreshwaterSoftshells(genusApalone)andEasternSnappingTurtles(Chelydra ser-pentina)andmanyotherspeciesfromaroundtheworldcaninflictseriousinjuriestoresearchersduringthedatacollectionprocess(Meylan2006;Munscheretal.2015). EasternSnappingTurtlesareknownfortheircantan-kerousdispositions,largeclaws,andpowerfulquick-strikingbeaks(Meylan2006)andcaninflictconsiderabledamagetoaresearcher’sfingersandhands.Handlingtheseanimalscanbetedious,time-consuming,andpotentiallydangeroustoresearcherandanimal(Fig.1).Forinstancein2010,thelead

author(ECM)wasprocessinga19-kgmaleSnappingTurtleatWekiwaSpringsStateParkinOrlando,Florida.Duringthemeasuringprocess,thislargeturtlebitandbrokeECM’sthumbonhisrighthand.Fortunately,ECMwaswearingthickdiveglovesthatpreventedtheturtle’sbeakandpower-fuljawsfrominflictingafarmoresevereinjury. Developingaprocessingmethodthatwillimmobilizeandreducetheturtle’sabilitytostrikeandcausebodilydamageisdesirable.Currently,methodsthatemployputtingalargestickorbroomhandleintheturtle’smouth(Fig.1)orusinganotherresearcherasadistractionareoftenused.Whilethesemethodscanwork,theyarenotoptimalfortheanimal’swell-beingortheresearcher’ssafety.In2013,theNorthAmericanFreshwaterTurtleResearchGroup(NAFTRG), theoffi-cialNorthAmericanresearchgroupoftheTurtleSurvivalAlliance(Munscheretal.2013)invitedoneoftheauthors(MDD)tojoinusatourTexasstudysiteatComalSpringsinNewBraunfels,Texas.MDDintroducedtheresearchgrouptoaprocessingmethodthathehadbeenusinginCanadaonSnappingTurtles.TheTurtleHeadImmobilizationSystem(THIS)isasmall-handledplunger(Fig.2).THISisplacedovertheturtle’sheadandheldinplacebythehandle(Figs.2–3).Mildforceisappliedtotheplungertoholdtheturtle’shead.Withthetoolinplaceandtheheadcovered,theturtles

M E T H O D S

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IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):173–177•DEC2015MUNSCHERETAL.

Fig. 1.ProcessingalargeEasternSnappingTurtle(Chelydra serpentina)inTennesseewithouttheuseofTHIS.Noticetheuseoflargesticksasameansofrestrictionanddistraction.Thismethodistime-consumingandnotoptimalforanimalorresearchersafety.

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MUNSCHERETAL. IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):173–177•DEC2015

arefarlessaggressive.Thetoolpreventsthemfrombeingabletosnapatthepersonsattemptingtoprocessthem,makingtheoverallprocessmuchsaferandfaster.Totesttheeffec-tivenessofTHIS,wetimedtheprocessingofnineSnappingTurtlesfromtwodifferentstudysites:ComalSpringsinNewBraunfels,Texas,andHorseCreekinTennessee.

Materials and MethodsCapture methods.—Snapping Turtleswerecapturedpri-marilybyhandwhilesnorkelingascomponents inmuchmoreextensiveturtleassemblagepopulationstudies(aver-agepersonhoursperevent~8hofwatertimeperperson).Wealsoplacedtwobaiteddouble-throatedhoopnets(1.9mdia.,5.7mlong)andfourfykenets(doublethroatedhoopnetswith15.2-mleads;availablefromMemphisNetandTwine,Memphis,Tennessee)baitedwithfriedchicken.Foreachsamplingsession,avariablenumberofvolunteers,typi-callybetween10–16snorkelers/boaters,surveyedturtlesfrom0800to1700hdependingonweatherconditions.Allcap-

turedturtleswereplacedinkayaksandcanoesandbroughttoacentrallocationinthespringrunforprocessingbeforesubsequentreleaseincloseproximitytowheretheywerecap-tured.Tennesseeturtleswerecapturedindouble-throatedhoopnetsbaitedwithfreshfish. Marking method.—Allturtlesaremarkedusingtwocomplementarymethods—anexternalhardmarkusingavariationofthetechniquedescribedbyCagle(1939)andwithpassive integratedtransponder(PIT)tags(Biomark,Inc.,Boise,Idaho;BuhlmanandTuberville1998).ThePITtagsareinsertedundertherightbridgeoftheshell,anteriortotherightleg.ThisareaisestablishedasanacceptablesiteforPIT-tagretention(BuhlmanandTuberville1998;RunyanandMeylan2005;Munscheretal.2015).Twelve-mmPITtagsareusedforallSnappingTurtles.CaptureandhandlingprotocolswereapprovedbytheTexasParksandWildlifeDepartment (TPWD), theCity ofNewBraunfels, TheTennesseeWildlifeResourcesAgency (TRWA) (TDEP),andtheInstitutionalAnimalCareandUseCommitteesat

Fig. 2.UseoftheTHISonalargemaleEasternSnappingTurtle(Chelydra serpentina)whilemeasuringcarapacewidth.Noticethemoderatepressurebeingappliedtotheplunger.Theturtle’sheadisentirelyenclosed.

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IRCFREPTILES&AMPHIBIANS•22(4):173–177•DEC2015MUNSCHERETAL.

PeninsulaCollege,andconformtotheASIH/SSARanimal-useguidelines(ASIH/HL/SSAR2001). Data collection.—Thefollowingmeasurementsweretakenfromeachturtle: Maximumcarapacelength,midlinecarapacelength,plastronlength,shellwidth,shellheight,plastronmidline, pre-cloacal length, post-cloacal length,andheadwidth.Allmeasurementsweretakentothenear-estmmusingtreecalipers.Turtleswereweighedtothenear-est50gwitha10-kgor20-kgspringscale(PesolaScales,Kapuskasing,Ontario,Canada).Turtlesweresexedbasedonsecondarysexualcharacteristicsofcarapacelength,tailtoclo-acallength,andfront-clawlength(ErnstandLovich2009).Oncealldatahadbeencollected,turtleswerereleasedasclosetotheiroriginalcapturelocationaspossible.

ResultsData analysis.—WetimedtheprocessingforsevenEasternSnapping Turtles at Comal Springs in New Braunfels,Texas,thatrangedinsizefrom300mmmaximumcarapacelength(CL)to396mmmaxCLandweighing7.3–15.5kg.Additionally,weprocessedtwoturtlesfromHorseCreekinSavannah,Tennessee,thatpossessedmaximumCLsof287mmand295mm,andweighted4.4kgand4.6kg,respectively. ProcessingtimeswerestatisticallyshorterwhenusingTHIS to immobilize a turtle’s head.A one-tailed t-test,

assumingunequalvariances,revealedthatmeanhandlingtimeusingthetool(2.71min±0.12SD)wassignificantlylessthanwithout(3.49min±0.35SD;t=4.64,df=4.9,p<0.0029).Personnelinjuriesalsowerekepttoaminimumastheonlyinjuries(scratches)occurredduringtheprocessingofSnappingTurtleswithouttheuseofTHIS.

DiscussionUseoftheTHISresultedinstatisticallyquicker,farsafer(tur-tleisincapableofstrikingwhenitsheadiswithintheplunger;Figs.2–3),andeasierprocessingofthesecantankerousturtles.Processingisnotonlydifficultandpotentiallydangeroustotheresearcherbutcanbeextremelystressfultotheturtles.Wenoticedthatoncetheturtle’sheadwasinsidetheplunger,theturtle’silltemperamentsubsided,allowingustoprocesstheturtleinafaster,safer,andmorestreamlinedfashion.Werecommendthatresearcherswhoworkwithlarger,moreaggressiveturtlespeciesconsiderusingthetool(asitisacosteffectiveway~$4.00)tominimizetheriskofinjurytoboththe turtle and the researcher.

AcknowledgementsTheTurtleSurvivalAlliance,NorthAmericanFreshwaterTurtleResearchGroupexpressesitsgratitudetoallofthevolunteerswhohavejoinedusforthisinauguralsamplingses-

Fig. 3.TheuseofTHISonamoderatelysizedmaleEasternSnappingTurtle(Chelydra serpentina)whilemeasuringtheplastron.

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sion,includingNicoleSalvatico,DavidRogers,BenWilliams,JessyWhales,AndeWilliams,andIrenGaz.WealsothankMattStahmanandtherestofthestaffattheHoustonofficeofSWCAEnvironmentalConsultantsfortheircontinuedsupportovertheyears.Thestudywasconductedunderper-mit#SPR-0212-019 fromtheTexasParksandWildlifeDepartmentandpermit#1494fromtheTennesseeWildlifeResourcesAgency.WeexpressourgratitudetotheFloridaDepartmentofEnvironmentalProtection(FDEP)forper-mittingus(permit#06261520)tosampleallofourFloridastudysites.Thisresearchwouldnothavebeenpossiblewith-outthevaluedhelpofVirginiaOrosandDeborahShellyfromtheWekivaRiverAquaticsPreserve, theFriendsoftheWekivaRiver,WekivaWildandScenicRiverSystemManagementCommittee,WekivaRiverAquaticPreserve,WekivaWildernessTrust,andKeepSeminoleBeautifulfortheirconstantsupportandmuch-neededfunding.

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