BACKGROUNDER

Information from Dr. Gabriel Blouin-Demers, biologist,
on Blanding’s Turtle at Leitrim

Dr. Gabriel Blouin-Demers is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa. He has published over 30 scientific papers on the ecology of Canadian reptiles since 2000.

Blanding’s Turtle is the only species in the genus Emydoidea. Its populations in the Great Lakes/St-Lawrence Region are Threatened according to the lists of Endangered Species under both Ontario and federal legislation.

Blanding’s Turtles prefer shallow waters with a soft bottom and abundant aquatic vegetation. They can be found in calm waters such as lakes, ponds, marshes, creeks, and wetlands. Although primarily aquatic, they can travel overland to go from water body to water body. They are known to travel more than 7 km to nest.

Blanding’s Turtles are difficult to spot because their colour and rock-shaped shell give them good cover, nor do they engage in overt basking as frequently as painted turtles do. On June 2, 2006, a specimen was sighted in the Lester Road wetland, less than 4 km from Leitrim Wetland. On October 17, 2006, a road-killed turtle was found and identified by the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre as a juvenile Blanding’s Turtle. Another live adult was spotted in the same area on May 21, 2007.

Prof. Blouin-Demers visited the Leitrim wetland complex in early May 2007 to assess its suitability for Blanding’s turtles. He observed several painted turtles in the larger beaver ponds of the wetland complex. (The habitat requirements of painted turtles are similar to those of Blanding’s turtles.) Aware that Blanding’s turtles have been sighted in the immediate vicinity of the Leitrim Wetland, Prof. Blouin-Demers concludes that this “indicates that the wetland complex could be inhabited by Blanding’s turtles.”

Prof. Blouin-Demers’ report includes two maps and photographs he captured in Eastern Ontario.

Photographs:

Global distribution of Blanding’s Turtles (pdf – 1.79 MB)

Map prepared by the Ontario Natural Heritage Information Centre:

Additional information from the Bishops Mills Natural History Centre on Blanding’s Turtle and the Lester Road find is at http://www.pinicola.ca/emyd.htm and at http://www.pinicola.ca/lesterem.htm.

Find additional information on Ottawa’s urban turtles here.

Biography of Professor Gabriel Blouin-Demers: http://science.uottawa.ca/biology/people/blouin-demers-gabriel

For more information contact Cheryl Doran at 613-290-9968.