Demography of a Population of Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) Inhabiting a Mosquito-control Ditched Salt Marsh on Long Island, New York

Michaela S. Bouffard¹, Michael Bottini², Doug P. Armstrong³, and Jacqueline D. Litzgus^1,*

¹School of Natural Sciences, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON P3E 2C6, Canada. ²Seatuck Environmental Association, Islip, NY 11751. ³Wildlife Ecology Group, Massey University, Palmerston North 4442, NZ. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 32, Issue 4 (2025): 483–492

First published early online: 27 October 2025

Abstract
Population monitoring is important for informing conservation of species at risk. Clemmys guttata (Spotted Turtle), a globally endangered species, occupies diverse habitats impacted by human activities. A 28-year study in a coastal wetland modified by mosquito-control ditching provided an opportunity to examine whether a winter ditch-dredging event impacted the population. A Jolly–Seber model fitted to mark–recapture data suggested the dredging caused ~10% mortality that resulted in a slight reduction in abundance, but abundance subsequently increased above the pre-dredging level. The sex and age structure were similar before and after dredging. Given the ubiquity of saltmarsh dredging along the Atlantic Coastal Plain where Spotted Turtles occur, our study has important implications for species protection.

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