Turtle research aims to expand our knowledge of the habitat of vulnerable reptiles
Researchers just finished combing some sandy beaches along the Coulonge River in western Quebec’s Pontiac region for forest turtles, which are listed as a vulnerable species in that province. They found three.
Their slow and steady work is part of a new project to monitor and protect four animal species in the Outaouais. The researchers hope that by searching areas not normally covered by these wildlife population studies, the known habitat of each will increase.
The Quebec Ministry of the Environment collaborated with Regional council of environment and sustainable development of l’Outaouais (CREDDO) on a two-year project on the Western Choir Frog, Blanding’s Tortoise, Four-toed Salamander and Wood Tortoise.
The CREDDO team was tasked with searching for forest turtles along the Coulonge and East Coulonge rivers. (Last year, the team searched areas where the turtles were known to be around 10.)
Cénédra Poulin, CREDDO’s project leader, said that while the team has only surfaced three turtles this year, they believe there are more.
“We found loads of nests and tracks…but we just weren’t lucky and we didn’t find them,” Poulin said.
Find nests
She and her colleague Anne Budge explored by canoe along the Coulonge River, paddling between 60 and 100 kilometers over two weeks in late June. They covered the same areas several times to get an accurate population picture.
Budge said it’s nesting season for forest turtles, who like to burrow in the sand.
“Whenever we find a nice beach or stretch of sand, we stop to find the nest and some tracks,” Budge said. “Also, the slope shouldn’t be too steep, otherwise the turtles won’t be able to climb out of the river.”
When Poulin and Budge find a turtle, they report its location to the Quebec Ministry of the Environment and the area around it is protected.
Once an area is protected, mining, road construction and all drainage activities are prohibited, while logging is prohibited during breeding season, Poulin said.
Conservation effort planning
Their data also helps the county plan future conservation efforts.
Ministry biologist Amélie Fontaine told Radio-Canada that Quebec has been researching the turtles since 1994.
In 2018, researchers began monitoring the same areas in four-year cycles to gain insight into how the population fared over time.
The most recent government survey, conducted this spring, found 35 turtles in six days along a section of the East Coulonge River that had previously been searched.
Fontaine said the new project will help the ministry better protect the animals, including the possibility of ecological corridors that give the turtles safe passage between their habitats.
