New Report: Spotted Turtle Among 10 U.S. Species Most Threatened by Habitat Fragmentation - via Herp Digest

Turtle Once Common Across Eastern United States Has Lost Half Its Historic Range

For Immediate Release, November 18, 2015-Contact: Collette Adkins, (651) 955-3821; cadkins@biologicaldiversity.org 

ATLANTA— The spotted turtle has been named one of the 10 U.S. species most threatened by habitat fragmentation in a new report released today by the Endangered Species Coalition. The report, No Room to Roam: 10 American Species in Need of Connectivity and Corridors, highlights 10 rare or endangered species that lack safe, navigable corridors to connect them to important habitat or other populations. The spotted turtle ranges across eastern United States, but local population extinctions have caused its range to contract and fragment.

“Turtles have survived on our planet for more than 200 million years, but now the spotted turtle and almost half of all turtle species worldwide are in danger of extinction because of human actions,” said Collette Adkins, an attorney the Center for Biological Diversity who works to protect amphibians and reptiles. “We must stop the destruction and isolation of their habitats now before we lose this beautiful little turtle  to extinction.”

The spotted turtle was once common throughout the eastern United States, but today it is on the brink of extinction, with a 50 percent reduction in its population size. This turtle is often on the move, typically visiting multiple wetlands throughout the year to forage, mate, thermoregulate and spend the winter. These can't be just any wetlands — the spotted turtle needs clear, clean water; a soft substrate; and aquatic or emergent vegetation. The frequent movements and habitat needs make the spotted turtle especially vulnerable to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation and road mortality. 

“Highly mobile creatures like the spotted turtle face the constant struggle of navigating around fences, roads and other developments that fragment their habitat,” said Adkins. “We must do everything we can to protect these species and better connect their key habitats.”

The Center petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the spotted turtle under the Endangered Species Act in 2012. In June 2015 the petition received an initial positive finding that the species may qualify for protection. Another Center petition resulted  in protections for the spotted turtle under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in 2013.

Spotted turtles are one of the many species across the county facing extinction due to fragmentation of their habitats. Among other at-risk species named in the report are the California tiger salamander, Karner blue butterfly, lesser prairie chicken, Yellowstone grizzly bear and Mexican gray wolf. Member groups of the Endangered Species Coalition from across the country nominated the species and ecosystems for inclusion in the report; the submissions were then reviewed and judged by a panel of scientists. The report also includes everyday actions that people can take to help promote habitat connectivity, such as urging land-management agencies to protect important wildlife corridors and supporting efforts to add wildlife crossings to roadways.

The Endangered Species Coalition has produced a “Top 10” report annually for the past eight years. No Room to Roam can be downloaded at: www.endangered.org/no-room-to-roam. Previous reports are available on the coalition’s website, www.stopextinction.org.

The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 900,000 members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.

Habitat Fragmentation Causes Inbreeding in California Cougars

By Laura Poppick, Staff Writer | January 10, 2014 04:13pm ET

P-32, shown here, is one of three mountain lion kittens born

 recently in the Santa Monica Mountains that are the result 

of first-order inbreeding.

Credit: National Park Service

Three mountain-lion cubs born recently in Southern California have been identified as inbred, adding to a growing list of inbreeding cases amongst these animals as a result of habitat fragmentation in this region, according to a statement from the National Park Service.

The three cubs — two females and one male — were born last month in the Santa Monica Mountains outside Los Angeles. Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, conducted preliminary DNA tests on all three of the cubs and their parents to identify their genetic makeup, and found that the cubs' father was also the father of their mother. 

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Endangered Hoolock gibbons moved to safety in India

Some of the last apes found in India

December 2011: An isolated group of endangered gibbons is being rescued from a remote Indian village.

Stranded in small clusters of trees, the Hoolock gibbons are some of the last apes found in India. The first two individuals have now been successfully translocated and released into a safe habitat in Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary.


A team of experts from the International Fund for Animal Welfare - Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI) have been assisting the state Forest Department in the operation that aims to ensure better survival prospects for 18 stranded gibbon families.

Habitat fragmentation is leaving them vulnerable

Hoolock gibbons are the only apes found in India, with their distribution restricted to the country's northeast region.

Habitat fragmentation is one of the serious concerns to the conservation of the Hoolock gibbons, which are also threatened by poaching and illegal trade.

There are populations of both these species of lesser apes struggling to survive in discontinuous patches leaving them highly vulnerable to local extinction.

‘Gibbons are highly specialised canopy-dwellers using their long arms for movement along tree branches. Their physical attributes are not suited to walk and they become easy prey on the ground, so it is very rare to see them descend from the canopy under natural circumstances,' said Dr Ian Robinson, IFAW Emergency Relief Director.

Desperate bid to find food
In Dello, however, the stranded gibbons have been seen to descend on the ground in a desperate bid to find food.

‘Dello is a small village once hosting a good tree cover and undoubtedly supporting a healthy population of the eastern Hoolock gibbons. But extensive felling of private forests has restricted the remnant population comprising 18 families in small clusters of trees surrounded by swathes of farmlands,' said Ipra Mekola, Arunachal Pradesh State Wildlife Advisory Member.

After deliberating on ways to save the gibbons, the team of experts decided that moving them to a better habitat was the only realistic option.

Close-knit family bonds
‘The family of gibbons we selected was the most vulnerable of the 18 families. This comprised an adult male, a female and a youngster. The female has been missing - and we have not been able to fnd her,' said WTI Coordinator Sunil Kyarong, who along with Dr Roy, veterinarians Dr NVK Ashraf, Dr Abhijit Bhawal and biologist Soumya Das Gupta formed the IFAW-WTI team.

Despite the missing female, the move of the remaining two members was successfully carried out as scheduled and their progress will now be carefully monitored.

‘A month or so ago, a female and her young were killed in attack by dogs. We fear that the missing female may be dead too, as gibbons have very close-knit family bonds lasting their lifetime, and wouldn't leave the family to wander off alone,' IFAW-WTI primatologist Dr Kuladeep Roy said.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/hoolock-gibbon.html