Event Details

Women in the Sciences presents wildlife biologist and Simon's Rock faculty Suzanne Fowle, as part of our ongoing lecture series.
This Friday, October 24th, at 4pm in Clark Auditorium, Suzie will be giving a talk about the conservation biology of freshwater turtles.
All are invited to come, and there of course will be delicious refreshments!

Abstract:
Turtles exhibit life history traits that leave them vulnerable to population declines.  Their low annual reproductive success and slow growth is counterbalanced by long life spans and high adult survival rates from year to year.  Therefore, increases in adult mortality, even when slight, can be enough to tip the scales in favor of population decline.  Roads present an acute threat to freshwater turtles: they are a source of mortality; and they fragment turtle habitats.  During the 1990s, I conducted research on the effects of road mortality on a population of western painted turtles in Montana.  I characterized the turtles killed (by age class, sex, season), and I compared population densities in ponds at different distances from the highway.  Since then, I have worked with populations of rare turtles in Massachusetts (spotted, Blanding's, and wood turtles) and had the opportunity to apply science (our collective knowledge of the threats to turtles and their habitat requirements) to conservation.  I will be discussing my work in Montana and Massachusetts as it pertains to the vulnerability, status, and conservation of freshwater turtles.