More than 60% of the world’s turtle species are endangered, including Blanding’s and wood turtles, which are native to Minnesota and may be found in the state’s wetlands, ponds, lakes and streams. To protect these vulnerable populations and their habitats, a cost-effective tool developed in this study will efficiently allow for the early detection of these turtles at transportation project sites.
Continue reading Detecting Endangered Turtles with Environmental DNATag Archives: turtles
New Project: Assessing a New Tool for Early Detection of Endangered Turtles on Proposed Transportation Projects
As turtle populations decline worldwide, increased protections (e.g. United States Endangered Species Act) yield increased regulatory burdens. As a consequence, monitoring of imperiled turtle species is imperative to understand both their extant distributions, but also to ensure regulatory compliance.
However, conventional methods for surveying turtles are frequently costly, time consuming, require taxonomic expertise, and unlikely to yield detections without repeated visits. And these burdens are exacerbated when sampling rare, threatened, or endangered (RTE) species. In these instances, innovative technological advances may overcome these limitations, ultimately streamlining monitoring.
Continue reading New Project: Assessing a New Tool for Early Detection of Endangered Turtles on Proposed Transportation Projects
Improving Road Safety and Wildlife Conservation With Barrier Fencing
Small animals crossing roads put the animals at risk and present a significant safety hazard to road users. Motorists who suddenly stop or slow to avoid small animals crossing the road can cause significant safety concerns. Motorcyclists and bicyclists risk serious injury if they swerve or hit an animal, as do pedestrians in the road trying to assist the animals. A new, cost-effective fence design was tested and shown to be effective in preventing small animal crossings, benefiting both public safety and conservation.
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Collaboration with Minnesota Zoo aims to conserve wildlife
Turtles and other wildlife are at risk along Minnesota roadways.
MnDOT is collaborating with the Minnesota Zoo on a new research project installing small animal exclusion fencing. The fencing is intended to redirect turtles (and other small animals) to culverts and bridges where they can cross the road safely.
Continue reading Collaboration with Minnesota Zoo aims to conserve wildlife
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