PACIFIC POND TURTLE ZOE GILLIGAN
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