BOG TURTLE DENSITY ESTIMATION USING SPATIAL CAPTURE RECAPTURE, LIVE TRAPS, AND CAMERA TRAPS IN NORTHEAST TENNESSEE, USA

The bog turtle (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) is a federally threatened freshwater turtle species found primarily in mountain wetlands in the eastern USA. There is only one known natural metapopulation of these turtles in Tennessee, where they exist in wetlands within one valley in the northeastern part of the state. In recent decades efforts have been undertaken to restore and expand these wetlands to benefit this threatened species. While the Tennessee metapopulation has been monitored for about 37 years, there has not been a systematic and intensive capturing effort to estimate the true size of the population. In summer (May – August) 2022, I captured bog turtles at two of these wetlands using both live traps and camera traps to determine the population density at the sites. I assessed population with a spatially explicit capture-recapture model. My population estimates were consistent with anecdotal information, and I found a diverse age structure with several juveniles and breeding age females.