| Adjacent to the Mobile Bay in Southern Baldwin County, the Weeks Bay estuary provides a variety of aquatic habitats for resident turtle species. This study was designed to assess the biodiversity of the fresh water turtle community and to estimate the relative densities of each species. Trapping extended from 28 May 1999 to 4 August 2000. Turtles were collected using aquatic hoop traps on each end of a 12-m interior lead net. There were a total of 1004 turtles, representing 8 species, captured with Pseudemys concinna (River cooters) accounting for 58% of the community. Pseudemys floridana (Florida cooters) made up 17.2%, and the endangered Pseudemys alabamensis (Alabama red-bellied turtles) made up 20.1% of the community. The remaining 4.7% consisted of Deirochelys reticularia (Chicken turtles), Apalone spinifera (Spiny softshell turtles), Chelydra serpentina (Common snapping turtles), and Macroclemys temminckii (Alligator snapping turtles). A total of 238 turtles, representing six different species, were recaptured. Three turtle species had significant recapture rates: P. alabamensis (14%), P. concinna (26.5%), and P. floridana (21%). Population estimates for these three species are presented using the Schnabel calculation method. |
