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Pet Store Turtle Take Over? |
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Rebecca K. Shell |
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Jul 11, 2002 |
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“The cute little turtles people buy in a pet store and later release into the wild are becoming a threat to the area’s native turtle populations,” said Kerry McKenna, a Ph.D. biology student from The University of Toledo. McKenna and a team of UT students are spending their summer mucking through the area waterways to track and analyze the changing turtle population in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.
The students are trying to determine the effect the red-eared slider, better known as the pet store turtle, is having on local turtle populations.
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| McKenna poses with a native snapping turtle during a recent expedition. |
According to McKenna, the red-eared slider has begun to displace native turtles in southwest Michigan and they are beginning to appear in northwest Ohio. “People don’t realize that these pet store turtles can grow to be 12 inches across and live for more than 40 years,” explains McKenna. “They grow tired of them and let them lose, thinking they are doing a good thing for the turtle.”
But in reality, McKenna says, they are introducing an aggressive turtle into the habitat of snapping turtles, painted turtles, musk turtles and the state-endangered spotted turtle. “This species of turtle is more aggressive over food and habitat than the native breeds. Even though the red-eared slider is a relatively new invader, preliminary evidence suggests a rapid expansion into local habitats,” said McKenna.
McKenna hopes the three-year study will not only track the number of red-eared sliders in the area, but also the changes in overall turtle populations.
According to Dr. Daryl Moorhead, associate professor of earth, ecological and environmental sciences, invasive species are a continuing threat to the Great Lakes. “Even apparently harmless species, like the zebra mussel and purple loosestrife, have become big problems in the region,” said Moorhead. “It seems wise to monitor the expansion of the red-eared slider from its initial invasion to assess its threat to native species and the lake ecosystems.”
For more information, contact Moorhead at 419.530.2017, or Rebecca Shell, media relations coordinator, at 419.530.7832.
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