Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre

The purpose of this research was to assist the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre (OTCC) in analyzing their intake records and identifying the locations and details of mitigation measures that have been implemented in the province to reduce the mortality of turtles on roads. This project was complete by analyzing and mapping four years (2014–2017) of OTCC intake records to determine patterns of turtle mortality. Climate data, including temperature and precipitation, was also compared to determine potential drivers for the trends that arose in intake numbers. Through interviews conducted with individuals and organizations, locations of ecopassages were determined, and then examined to discuss their effectiveness. The results indicate that 84% of the turtles brought into the OTCC have been hit by cars, and that in 2017 the intake totals for the OTCC more than doubled. It is predicted that a decrease in precipitation in 2016, may have resulted in a population rebound when seasonal weather returned in 2017. In addition, a growing awareness about the OTCC appears to be a significant factor in these trends, as the spatial distribution of turtles in the OTCC intake records has increased by 16 km on average, and over 40,000 km in total over the past four years. In regards to mitigation measures, 80 different locations were identified and the features and effectiveness of these structures were discussed through a comparison with literature. It is recommended moving forward that the OTCC continue to monitor annual intake patterns and compile the locations of ecopassages in the province. It is evident that turtle populations are suffering as a result of habitat fragmentation from the development of road networks. The information presented in this project will help the OTCC become better prepared for years to come, and also assist in improving the communication and collaboration among stakeholders to increase the conservation of turtle populations in Ontario.

The research conducted for the Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre was completed with the purpose of understanding the dangers that the turtle population of Ontario faces. Spatial analysis was conducted on the 2016 intake records for the OTCC. This analysis was completed using ArcGIS 10.1 which allowed the construction of a number of maps to be completed. A literature review was conducted outlining the different methodologies used to assign turtles to age categories. Within the literature review other wildlife Centres were contacted to obtain information on how they perform age categorization. These methods were compared to the OTCC and it was discovered that the best method would be to track turtles from hatchling, but this is not always possible. Analysis of the intake records were then completed with the goal of determining size by species and prior injury data. The size by species analysis yielded numerous graphs depicting the average size by species as well as age, and sex. Unfortunately, there was not enough data available to make usable inferences on prior injury data. This information would be crucial for maintaining mitigation or even implementing it. A task of the project included developing a digital intake tool to allow for more consistent record keeping. The completion of the digital intake tool now includes a separate section for prior injury to allow for prior injury analysis to be conducted.