The Blank Park Zoo in Des Moines, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa State University are trying to give a native turtle species a boost.
Blanding’s turtles, which have domed upper shells and bright yellow throats, were once widespread in the central and eastern parts of the U.S. and Canada. But numbers have declined in recent years, in part due to habitat loss, concentrated predation and poaching.
Blanding’s turtles are listed as threatened in Iowa and under review for a federally threatened or endangered listing by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“The biggest threat is really just how humans have altered the landscapes that they’ve lived on and evolved in,” said Lizzy Lang, an ISU wildlife ecology graduate student whose research focuses on Blanding’s turtles.
Lang said the turtles spend most of their time in pothole wetlands, but females prefer to nest in upland prairie, sometimes a mile away. Longer distances increase their chance of getting run over by a vehicle. The reduction in habitat also concentrates nests, which makes it easier for predators, like raccoons and skunks, to eat more eggs and hatchlings.
Young turtles are also threatened by poachers who sell them as pets, said Lang. Collecting wildlife without a license is illegal in Iowa.
What is headstarting?
To increase the survival rate of young Blanding’s turtles, the partners are using a conservation tool called “headstarting.” Protecting hatchlings until they reach a certain size before being released into the wild gives them a fighting chance.
"Iowa is a small state, and one of our biggest strengths is our ability to work with each other," said Karen Kinkead, the wildlife diversity program coordinator with the Iowa DNR. "Not every organization can be an expert in everything, but when you know how to find the experts in other organizations and build a team, you can have a better result overall."
Earlier this year, Lang and another student worked with the DNR to bring several female turtles from central Iowa to the Blank Park Zoo. Chris Eckles, chief engagement officer at the zoo, said staff X-rayed the turtles to confirm that they had fertilized eggs and then induced them. The students returned the female turtles to where they were found while zoo staff incubated the eggs.
Nearly 60 hatched. Zoo staff are caring for the young turtles until the spring. Then they will be released into the wild where their mothers were found.
Some will have a small telemetry tag glued onto their shell, said Lang.
"It releases a beep every couple seconds or so that we can hear with a receiver and an antenna," Lang said. “It's similar to the theory of tuning into a radio station on your car. Each turtle has its own individual radio station. We tune into that station, and then we're able actually to hear them and relocate them on the landscape.”
This tracking data, combined with other surveys, will help researchers and wildlife managers better understand the turtles’ habitat use, range and survivability. Kinkead said this work, supported by a grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, also involves habitat improvements on public and private land.
Protecting animals from extinction and supporting wildlife
The Blanding's turtle project is part of the Saving Animals from Extinction (SAFE) Program that Blank Park Zoo participates in with other accredited zoos and aquariums nationally and internationally.
“This really caught our interest because it is something you can find here, in your own backyard,” Eckles said. “We want to save animals in the wild from extinction no matter where they are in the world, but to have that local connection really means something.”
Along with providing space and time to rear the young Blanding’s turtles, Eckles said a portion of every dollar that is spent at the zoo goes into a conservation fund to support projects like this.
Education and outreach are also key, she said.
As part of the zoo’s monthly Discover the Wild series, the partners will talk about the Blanding’s turtle project and turtle conservation Nov. 17. Eckles said these events always include actions people can take to support wildlife. A key message for this one is “Not a Pet.”
The young Blanding's turtles will not be on public display at the zoo.
Lang emphasized that turtles play a key role in wetland ecosystems and complex food chains.
“They act as predators for smaller species or as a prey item for larger animals,” Lang said. “And wetland ecosystems, as we know in Iowa, are really important to help maintain water quality.”
Kinkead gave several recommendations for people to help protect turtles.
"If you see one on the road, please try to avoid running over it. If one were to nest in your yard, you could place a wire cage around the area — they dig a hole and then cover it back up — to prevent animals from digging up the nest or yourself from mowing over it," she said.
The Iowa DNR also offers technical assistance to private landowners to reestablish habitat for wildlife.
