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31 December 2020 Urban Turtle Project: Using Citizen Science to Document Freshwater Turtle Communities and Populations in Birmingham, Alabama, with Focus on Alabama Map Turtles (Graptemys pulchra)
Andrew T. Coleman
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Long-term data sets are critical in assessing populations of long-lived species such as turtles. The Urban Turtle Project was initiated in 2018 to begin building a long-term data set on the demography and ecology of the turtle populations in various urban waterways of Birmingham, Alabama. Another goal of the project is to increase public awareness of the state's impressive chelonian diversity by employing citizen scientists on semiannual sampling weekends. In its 2-yr existence, 52 participants volunteered over 200 hrs during 4 sampling weekends, with 16 volunteering for multiple weekends. Over 200 turtles of 10 species were sampled, with the majority of captures (n = 83) being Alabama map turtles (Graptemys pulchra), a historically understudied species. Collected demographic and reproductive data contribute to a better understanding of natural history of G. pulchra and how this and other species exist in an urban environment.

© 2020 Chelonian Research Foundation
Andrew T. Coleman "Urban Turtle Project: Using Citizen Science to Document Freshwater Turtle Communities and Populations in Birmingham, Alabama, with Focus on Alabama Map Turtles (Graptemys pulchra)," Chelonian Conservation and Biology 19(2), 283-290, (31 December 2020). https://doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1427.1
Received: 3 December 2019; Accepted: 7 April 2020; Published: 31 December 2020
KEYWORDS
Alabama
Birmingham
demography
ecology
Graptemys pulchra
Reptilia
Testudines
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