SCCF presents on storm impacts to non-marine turtles
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation Wildlife & Habitat Management Director Chris Lechowicz and wildlife biologist Mike Mills attended the 21st Annual Symposium on the Conservation and Biology of Tortoises and Freshwater Turtles, held on July 31 to Aug. 3 in Charleston, South Carolina.
The SCCF reported that the conference focused on non-marine turtles with scientists from around the world and included 109 oral presentations and 23 poster presentations. Lechowicz’s talk “Hurricane Ian Effects on Insular Populations of Terrestrial and Freshwater Turtles in Southwest Florida,” invoked a lot of interest from colleagues.
“There is very little published data on how turtles react to these events,” he said. “The non-marine turtle species that SCCF conducts research efforts on are of high interest in the turtle conservation realm.”
Lechowicz added that two species, the Florida mud turtle and the Florida chicken turtle, are understudied and the SCCF has the latest research data.
He was asked to write the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List Assessment of the Florida mud turtle, which summarizes all known information and conservation status of the species.
Lechowicz gave a short presentation on the turtle at a private workshop during the conference. The assessments are used by agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora and state governments to make decisions based on the conservation status and needs of the species.
“This conference is a great forum to network with other researchers, share information and techniques, and build collaborations,” he said.