Surveys for Spotted and Blanding's Turtles for Ducere LLC in Lockport, Illinois

Abstract

We set traps at 64 trap locations for 251.48 trap days (5,853.28 trap hours) and captured 19 turtles (18 from traps, one from VES) of 13 individuals. Of these, 16 captures (10 individuals) were Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta), and three were Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina). An additional nine Painted Turtles were observed basking at Wetland 8 during VES. We did not capture or observe any Spotted or Blanding’s Turtles. We captured all turtles at Wetlands 4 and 8. Environmental conditions varied considerably (AT: 7.5-30 °C; WT: 5.4-27 °C) during trapping but never exceeded the bounds of activity. Other species observed or captured in traps, included crayfish, Eastern Mudminnows (Umbra pygmaea), other fishes, Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans), American Bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus), American Toads (Anaxyrus americanus), and Northern Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon). We noted counts of each species but did not take measurements.