Diamondback Terrapin

Soundwaters 4/27 visit

2010-05-04T03:39:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

We had a wonderful visit and field experience at Cove Island Park on 4/27. We bushwhacked through forest. Visited a secluded beach and discussed the importance of dune grasses and looked for possible terrapin nesting sites. We then gave Soundwaters our SHAVING the TERRAPIN fundraiser money. We were happy to help and my mustache is still off!

ShAVING the TERRAPINS!!

2010-04-08T19:32:00.000-07:00

The touch tank at SoundWaters!

2010-03-30T19:13:00.000-07:00

We had a great lesson on plankton, experimented with snails, and did water analysis!

What a great rainy day! :-)

Mr Forde :-)

Our Visit to Soundwaters Today!

2010-03-30T19:09:00.000-07:00

DBT living Acrostic!

2010-02-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

Tree DBT Experiment!

2010-01-28T04:04:00.000-08:00

Making the Signs!

2010-01-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

Diamondback Terrapin Acrostic!

2010-01-28T03:17:00.000-08:00

Here we are having fun with a living acrostic!

Help the Terrapin! Post some comments!

Mr F :-)

Breaking iTerrapin News

2009-12-30T06:13:00.000-08:00

Terrapin Breaking News - part 3

2009-12-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

SoundWaters Terrapin Watch Part 3 from Hilary Starks on Vimeo.

Responding to an email from a fan!

2009-12-08T11:55:00.000-08:00

Terrapin Breaking News - part 2

2009-12-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Terrapin Breaking News - part 1

2009-11-30T16:58:00.000-08:00

Our November Sound Waters Visit!

2009-11-25T03:39:00.000-08:00

Hi There!

The great staff at Soundwaters helped us create videos about the diamondback terrapin for their web site (soundwaters.org) that e will cross post here. Here are some pistures of us in action!

Mr. F :-)

2009-11-15T18:32:00.000-08:00

Our Plan for this years blog!

2009-11-06T11:58:00.002-08:00

Our first visit to Soundwaters!!

2009-10-29T05:41:00.000-07:00

Hi There!

Here are the Terrapin Kids ('09 - '10) in action with the help of the wonderful Sound Waters staff!

We are really inspired for our work this year after a wonderful day!

Jim Forde :-)

Terrapin Kids 2009!!

2009-10-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Please post your ideas for this coming year under this posting! i can;t wait to start creating the blog for this year!!

Mr. Forde :-)

ps- The pictures from our first community service day are coming soon!!

2009-10-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

Here is the new baby terrapin hatched at Soundwaters! Isn't it cuuuute! :-) Let's do all we can to ensure that these amazing creatures are protected and have every chance to remain a part of our LI Sound ecosystem!

Click Here to check in on SoundWaters blog and see how the baby diamondback terrapin is doing over the next few weeks.

Mr. Forde :-)

WORLD TURTLE DAY!

2009-05-20T09:01:00.000-07:00

Click Here to learn more about the WORLD TURTLE DAY!

THIS SATURDAY

Mr. F :-)

Shell Shocked Video- protecting terrapins!

2009-05-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Hi All!

PLEASE go to this video and find out more about the issue of terrapins being trapped in abandoned traps!

CLICK HERE

Then click on the video!

Mr. Forde :-)

The 5/09 Beach Clean UP!

2009-05-19T16:53:00.000-07:00

Here we are on our last community service day. We collected about 60 pounds of trash. We hope that any LIS organism that encounters the beach will be safer and happier! We also presented the staff at SOundwaters with a framed certificate of appreciation.

What a great year!

Mr. Forde and the advisory!

USGS terrapin web page!

2009-05-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

Click here to see the USGS Diamondback Terrapin Page!

It is pretty cool and chock full of information!

Mr. F :-)

2009-04-15T15:35:00.000-07:00

Click here for the great turtle race! From Canada to the Caribbean and South America, 11 turtles are racing across the Atlantic Ocean. Join us in following the 2009 Great Turtle Race!

Cove Island 309!

2009-03-31T19:43:00.000-07:00

Predicting Terrapin Nesting Sites

2009-03-31T19:23:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

On our trip to Cove Island today we toured much of the island looking for optimal locations for Terrapin nests. The map below and the images that correspond will show you where we think Terrapins are most likely to be found. This is based on some research we did and discussions with the Soundwaters staff.

Here is the google earth map and some photos I took on my iPhone. Click on it to enlarge it and see the 3 identified locations we focused on.

Location #1- Good habitat and cover, unlikely to be disturbed and the right kind of sand/soil.

Location #2- More remote from human activity and sandy shoreline areas near good food sources.

Location #3- The most remote location with the right physical characteristics to meet the needs of a Northern Diamondback Terrapin.

WATCH THIS VIDEO!

2009-03-11T06:07:00.000-07:00

Is it any wonder that the Diamondback Terrapin is having issues? Watch this video about the effects of pollution on remote islands and endangered birds. This is 7 minute clip from the amazing TED.com web site is a call to action!

Click here for the video.

Mr. Forde :-)

Looking good in the SW shirts!

2009-03-02T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here is a great photo taken last week of my advisory sporting their Sound Waters shirts! Tank you so much for the generous donation. The class was excited about this new uniform!

Mr. F :-)

Board of Ed Event Tonight!

2009-02-24T18:21:00.000-08:00

The Stamford Board of Education honored my students with certificates for their hard work to preserve the Diamondback Terrapin. Here a few pictures from the event! Great job...now let's get back to work! :-) Special thanks to Sara Arnold for the recognition and to SoundWaters for their production of this wonderful partnership!

There we are!

Nice public speaking Jacob!

Great job Courteney!

iTerrapin: Episode #3

2009-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

Squid Dissection at Soundwaters 1/09

2009-01-28T12:20:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

As part of our development as scientists Soundwaters arranged for us to learn about another organism, the squid! Here are some pictures of our class in action!

Here we are getting some background information on the squid body design.

Eric is on the case developing his hypothesis!

Alexa and Sonia and their squids!

Writing with squid ink!

Soon to be calamari!

What a great learning experience this was for us!

Mr. F :-)

iTerrapin: Episode 2

2009-01-12T13:02:00.000-08:00

Terrapin Facts #2

2009-01-12T12:09:00.001-08:00

Here are some facts form Giulio, Frank, Will, and Eric!

1. Major injuries occur to many turtle species as a result of human development and natural factors.

2. The Northern Diamondback Terrapin is the only turtle species that lives in Estuary waters in the USA.

3. The Diamondback Terrapin population is declining by commercial farming.

4. The Terrapin Turtles terrestrial predators are raccoon and crows.

5. 10.8% of all captured terrapins had a major injury.

6. 92.2% of Diamondback Terrapins eggs are being eaten by raccoons.

7. Nesting of the Terrapins usually takes place in high temperatures and high tide.

8. Breeding females journey up to 1600 meters and may take as long as 48 hrs to reach their nesting location.

Christina Mohrman- Mississippi Terrapins

2009-01-08T16:21:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Thank you for contacting me about being involved in your effort to find our more about diamondback terrapins. I would be glad to be involved in your blog. I have attached a photo of a diamondback terrapin from my area, the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, in southeastern Mississippi. (see aboe) The terrapins here are a different subspecies from yours, the Mississippi diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin pileata) instead of the northern diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin). The subspecies name (pileata) means capped and refers to the dark diamond-shaped patch that most MS diamondback terrapins have on top of their head. The photo is of an adult female terrapin on a nesting beach.

Also, I worked at the Wetlands Institute in New Jersey, so I helped the Jordan Road School class that you mentioned on your blog. You can probably get updates on what they are currently doing from the Wetlands Institute. Several classes are involved in raising terrapins and at the end of the school year they all come to the Wetlands Institute and release their turtles. It is a great program.

I look forward to being in touch with all of you soon.

~Christina

------------------------------------------------------------------
Christina Mohrman
Coordinator, Environmental Cooperative Science Center
Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

christina.watters@dmr.ms.gov

2009-01-02T08:37:00.000-08:00

Click here to see a group of elementary students from NJ who actually were involved in trying to raise hatchling terrpins! (This entry was from 2005 ...so I am unsure of they still do this.) Use the links on the bottom of the page to see some of their research. I like what they did!

Mr. F :-)

Terrapin Tracks!

2008-12-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Special thanks to Dr. Willem M. Roosenburg Ph.D.of the Department of Biological Sciences at Ohio University who has provided the following images of terrapin tracks to help us find their location.

(see below...from his paper AN EASY AND EFFECTIVE WAY TO PROTECT DIAMONDBACK TERRAPIN (MALACLEMYS TERRAPIN) NESTS)

Figure 7 Terrapin tracks in wet sand can lead you to recently laid terrapin nests. If you follow the tracks from the water, they often will lead you to the nest. Specifically, look for the tracks where the terrapin returns to the water, in the left hand panel, this is the left track. You can be recognize the direction of the turtle by noticing the “Js” in their tracks. The turtle is moving in the direction to the top of the J. Arrows indicate the direction of the tracks in the photos. In the right photo, the tracks are moving down the page. Typically, nests will be laid above mean high tide.

This is exciting and helpful information!

Also, Dr. Roosenburg provided great designs for turtle exclosures.

Thanks a lot!

Mr. Forde :-)

Turtle Toon #1- By Courteney and Alexa!

2008-12-28T11:00:00.001-08:00

Click on the cartoon for a bigger view!

Contact with a Terrapin Researcher!

2008-12-28T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

I was excited to get a neat response from one of our recent cries for help from the Internet. Dr. Russell Burke of Hofstra University has offered his expertise to us as we continue to try and figure out how we can help the Diamondback Terrapin.

Here is the text of his e-mail to us...

"By all means make me a regular contact and post my stuff on your blog. Tell me more about what you're doing and maybe I can help or even visit sometime.

be careful working with the hardware cloth, it can scratch your hands and arms pretty seriously as you cut it. take your time and wear gloves and long sleeves.

Attached are some papers that may be of interest. the Burke et al. paper was co-authored by two high school students in my lab."

Russ

Dr. Russell Burke
Department of Biology
Hofstra University
http://www.people.hofstra.edu/russell_l_burke/

We will be sure to contact him soon with some meaningful questions. We'll keep you posted!

Mr. Forde :-)

Turtle exclosure designs

2008-12-18T13:17:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Here are two turtle exclosures that we designed using some left over fencing materials and wire ties. We are not sure how useful they will be but we rose to the challenge and have two finished products. What do you think?

We were hoping they would help to protect terrapin nests...once we find some at Cove Island Park.

Terrapin Kids

Our First Webisode! - iTerrapin! #1

2008-12-16T07:38:00.000-08:00

Our First Terrapin Puzzle!

2008-12-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

Click Here to play!

Created by Nyla, Jennell, and Stephanie

We're in the Stamford Times!

2008-12-07T14:24:00.000-08:00

Read the article... Clck Here

Mr. F :-)

Collecting Data at SoundWaters

2008-12-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

Baby Terrapin at SoundWaters

2008-11-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

A terrapin at SoundWatrers!

2008-11-27T05:00:00.000-08:00

This terrapin is located in the wetland tank at the SoundWaters facility!

Be sure to visit it!

The terrapin Kids!

Soundwaters visit 11/04

2008-11-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

We measured and weighed the terrapins. (The new little ones are CUUUUUUTE!)

We tested the water quality of all of the tanks.

We walked Cove Island Park looking for possible terrapin habitats.

We introduced our blog to the soundwaters team and met a reporter from the Advocate.

It was a great day!

Mr. F :-)

The Terrapin Rap! (#1)

2008-11-21T10:27:00.000-08:00

Here is our first attempt at a Terrapin Rap!

There will be more of these to come! Click on the link below!

http://scofieldmms.org/black/pages/terrapin1.mp3

We hope you enjoy it!

David B., Jacob H. and Medium Jim

Terrapin facts #1

2008-11-21T05:17:00.000-08:00

Cool facts from Giulio, Will, Eric and Frank

We will update this set of facts every week! peace...out.

Fact #1: The diamondback terrapin is the only species of turtle that lives in brakish water

Fact #2: In the early 1900's the terrapins were a popular gourmet meal.

Fact #3: The diamondback terrap[in have a grey, light brown or black top shell.

Fact #4: Motorboat propellers are responsible for killing many terrapins.

Fact #5: he diamondback terrpin feed on fish, marine snails, crabs, moss, carrion, clams and worms.

Source: Wildlife in CT fact sheet
CT Department of Environmental Protection

Here we are learning about the Terrapin!

2008-11-20T04:03:00.000-08:00