Tybee Island's pregnant turtles no match for motorists
July 16, 2011 , by Mary Lnders Savannah Morning NewsAround this time each year, diamondback terrapins get an undeniable urge to lay their eggs.
Sadly for many of the lady terrapins in the marshes around Tybee, they have to cross busy U.S. 80 to find a good nesting spot on higher ground.
The race of turtle against traffic rarely ends well for the terrapin, a species that lives in salt marshes from Cape Cod to the Florida Keys and west along the Gulf Coast to Texas.
So far this year, more than 70 terrapins have lost that contest on U.S. 80.
Once numerous, terrapins were hunted to near extinction for the dining pleasure of turtle soup lovers around the turn of the last century. Their recovery from that fad has been slowed by habitat loss, drowning in crab traps and road kills. They're even occasionally threatened by airplanes. Recently, air traffic controllers at John F. Kennedy airport in New York shut down a runway as gravid terrapins crossed it to reach their nesting grounds. Terrapins are listed as a species of concern under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Like the air traffic controllers at JFK, marine educators at Tybee Island Marine Science Center do what they can to help the turtles. On their way to and from work each day, the educators are on mobile crossing guard duty.
One of the marine educators, Lauren Broome, stopped her car one day on her way home from Tybee when she saw one terrapin doing its version of the 100-yard dash.
"She was booking it," Broome said. "They're pretty quick on the street. Four or five vehicles missed her including one with a trailer, then an SUV hit her. The whole time I was cringing."
Broome knew the turtle was a goner but collected the terrapin anyway.
"She was obviously not going to make it, but I wanted to save her eggs," she said. "But they were all crushed."
That's not always the case. Broome and her colleagues have been able to extract eggs from three females and hand them over to Kathryn Craven, associate professor of biology at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Craven and her students incubate the eggs, carefully burying each in vermiculite in its own compartment of a tackle box. So far they have four clutches in the incubator, 24 eggs in all. Two sets are incubating at 25 degrees Celsius to produce males, and two are at 30 degrees Celsius to produce females. The first of the quarter-sized babies should be hatching any day now.
Informal counts of the terrapin road kills have Craven suspecting 2011 has been tough on terrapins compared to last year.
"My conclusion is that there are more animals out on the road," she said. And awareness from motorists may be down.
"As far as I know, (Georgia) DOT didn't replace the turtle signs on the causeway," she said. "They were gone by the end of last season, and there were none this year. It would be nice if DOT would replace them."
That's a concern for Ross Dersch, too. A fan of turtles who keeps yellow-bellied sliders and map turtles along with some red-footed tortoises, Dersch is frustrated the signs are gone.
"It just gets me that nobody puts signs up," he said.
Craven and the marine center educators urge drivers to be on the lookout for terrapins, especially in the evening or after a rain. And they urge would-be rescuers to ensure their own safety first.
"Take it slow," Craven said. "I know there's a lot of pressure in the traffic out there. Take it slow and watch for animals."
Only pull over if it's safe to do so. If you do assist a terrapin, give it a lift to whatever side it's headed, they advise.
July 16, 2011 , by Mary Lnders Savannah Morning NewsAround this time each year, diamondback terrapins get an undeniable urge to lay their eggs.
Sadly for many of the lady terrapins in the marshes around Tybee, they have to cross busy U.S. 80 to find a good nesting spot on higher ground.
The race of turtle against traffic rarely ends well for the terrapin, a species that lives in salt marshes from Cape Cod to the Florida Keys and west along the Gulf Coast to Texas.
So far this year, more than 70 terrapins have lost that contest on U.S. 80.
Once numerous, terrapins were hunted to near extinction for the dining pleasure of turtle soup lovers around the turn of the last century. Their recovery from that fad has been slowed by habitat loss, drowning in crab traps and road kills. They're even occasionally threatened by airplanes. Recently, air traffic controllers at John F. Kennedy airport in New York shut down a runway as gravid terrapins crossed it to reach their nesting grounds. Terrapins are listed as a species of concern under the federal Endangered Species Act.
Like the air traffic controllers at JFK, marine educators at Tybee Island Marine Science Center do what they can to help the turtles. On their way to and from work each day, the educators are on mobile crossing guard duty.
One of the marine educators, Lauren Broome, stopped her car one day on her way home from Tybee when she saw one terrapin doing its version of the 100-yard dash.
"She was booking it," Broome said. "They're pretty quick on the street. Four or five vehicles missed her including one with a trailer, then an SUV hit her. The whole time I was cringing."
Broome knew the turtle was a goner but collected the terrapin anyway.
"She was obviously not going to make it, but I wanted to save her eggs," she said. "But they were all crushed."
That's not always the case. Broome and her colleagues have been able to extract eggs from three females and hand them over to Kathryn Craven, associate professor of biology at Armstrong Atlantic State University. Craven and her students incubate the eggs, carefully burying each in vermiculite in its own compartment of a tackle box. So far they have four clutches in the incubator, 24 eggs in all. Two sets are incubating at 25 degrees Celsius to produce males, and two are at 30 degrees Celsius to produce females. The first of the quarter-sized babies should be hatching any day now.
Informal counts of the terrapin road kills have Craven suspecting 2011 has been tough on terrapins compared to last year.
"My conclusion is that there are more animals out on the road," she said. And awareness from motorists may be down.
"As far as I know, (Georgia) DOT didn't replace the turtle signs on the causeway," she said. "They were gone by the end of last season, and there were none this year. It would be nice if DOT would replace them."
That's a concern for Ross Dersch, too. A fan of turtles who keeps yellow-bellied sliders and map turtles along with some red-footed tortoises, Dersch is frustrated the signs are gone.
"It just gets me that nobody puts signs up," he said.
Craven and the marine center educators urge drivers to be on the lookout for terrapins, especially in the evening or after a rain. And they urge would-be rescuers to ensure their own safety first.
"Take it slow," Craven said. "I know there's a lot of pressure in the traffic out there. Take it slow and watch for animals."
Only pull over if it's safe to do so. If you do assist a terrapin, give it a lift to whatever side it's headed, they advise.
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