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The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle species in North America.
Kevin Enge and Travis Thomas, biologists with the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
are conducting a study that will determine the turtle’s population status,
movements, and home range size in the Suwannee River.
A 2-year sonic telemetry study is being funded by the Nongame Wildlife Trust Fund
in conjunction with a with a 2-year trapping study
funded through the Conserve Wildlife license plate.
Information on habitat use, water depth, movements, and home range will be collected,
as well as potential impacts of human activities on turtles' habitat structure.
The alligator snapping turtles will be fitted with sonic transmitters
and tracked in the Suwannee River using ultrasonic receivers.
This study will be the first telemetry study conducted on the alligator snapping turtle
in the eastern part of its range,
and it will be the first study of its kind in a large, free-flowing river system in the United States.
To estimate population size, biologists use a mark-recapture method.
Turtles are "marked" by implanting microchip tags in their tails and then released.
The proportion of marked turtles later recaptured
is used to estimate population size in different sections of the river.
Alligator snapping turtles were historically used as food in the South.
The peak harvest occurred in the 1960's and 1970's.
In the 1970's, the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission
began limiting the take of alligator snapping turtles.
Today, it is illegal to take, possess, or sell these turtles.
It could take decades for the alligator snapping turtle to recover from previous over-harvesting.
However, biologists have discovered that many turtles weigh over 100 pounds in the Suwannee River.
This suggests that the population in this area was not over-harvested and should continue to thrive.