When out and about this summer, you might spot a turtle sunning itself on a rock or a floating log. This is most likely a Western Painted Turtle, the only native freshwater turtle species in BC. Did you know that turtles lay in the sun to regulate their body temperature? Read on to learn more about this species of special concern and what can be done to protect it.
Biology
The Western Painted Turtle is a freshwater turtle of medium size, reaching a shell length of 25cm. While eggs hatch in the fall, the young turtles usually only leave their nests the following spring or early summer. Hatchlings are able to endure temperatures as low as −10°C in their nest by supercooling.
Fun fact: the sex of Painted Turtle hatchlings depends on the temperature during incubation. Female turtles are produced in warmer temperatures, whereas males are the result of colder incubation temperatures!
Western Painted Turtles can live 20 to 30 years. However, only one in five hatchlings will survive into adulthood due to high levels of predation on turtle nests.
What is basking?
Unlike humans, turtles rely on outside sources to regulate their body temperature. This is why they can often be seen basking in the sun. By laying on floating logs and emergent boulders, they are able to absorb the sun’s rays and increase their body temperature. This also stimulates their metabolism, allows them to synthesize vitamin D, and dries off their shells to ward off any parasites or algae that might attach to them.
Habitat
Western Painted Turtles inhabit small, shallow bodies of water like ponds, wetlands, and slow-moving streams. They prefer sites with muddy bottoms, abundant vegetation, and plenty of basking spots. When nesting, the turtles require dry, light-textured soils in order to bury their eggs. Ideal sites are generally found on south-facing slopes with little to no plant cover. They are usually within 150m from the body of water. Common nesting sites include dikes, road shoulders, and parking lots.
Threats
The loss and degradation of wetland habitat in British Columbia due to development and agricultural activities has greatly impacted the Western Painted Turtle. Moreover, turtles often have to cross roads when migrating between terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Unfortunately, this can often be fatal, especially when females move to nesting sites in the spring.
Other threats faced by the turtles include recreational activities near nesting sites, injuries from fishing by-catch, and predation. A changing climate brings on further challenges such as lower water levels due to drought. On top of it all, their long lifespans mean that even low mortality rates can cause a decline in population.
What you can do to help protect the Western Painted Turtle
- Help protect and restore crucial wetland habitat
- Admire basking turtles from a distance and avoid their nesting sites
- Keep dogs on a leash around nesting sites
- Look out for turtles crossing the road as they move between nesting sites and bodies of water, mostly in the spring and fall
- Bring non-native turtle pets to the SPCA – never release them into the wild