Tracking turtles: Local herpetologist documents Alabama’s diverse turtle population

If you visited Trussville’s Pinchgut Creek or Cahaba River this summer, you may have spotted some of Alabama’s 41 species of turtles basking on rocks.

Urban waterways support an impressive amount of turtles, and local herpetologist Andy Coleman seeks to document and track these populations through the Urban Turtle Project.

“Alabama is No. 1 in the country for turtle diversity,” Coleman said. “Most of that diversity that we see are freshwater turtles because of the abundance of freshwater here in the state. To be a turtle biologist, there is really no better place in the world to be.”

Coleman has studied turtles for the last 15 years, but since the launch of the Urban Turtle Project in May 2018, he has tracked an abundance of turtle populations right here in the Birmingham area.

The project began with a mission to conserve, document and track the turtle populations in the Birmingham area and to increase public engagement.

“Not enough people are aware of the great diversity of turtles in Alabama and especially in the Birmingham area,” Coleman said. “I want people to know this, become engaged in this science and convey the message of conservation.

“I mean, who doesn’t love turtles?” he continued. “I always say that turtles are great conservation ambassadors because people love turtles, and they are basically non-threatening creatures, besides the alligator snapper. We can use turtles as a vehicle to get some of these other messages of conservation out to the public.”

According to Coleman, there are potentially 10 different species in the Birmingham area alone.

“Within this urban setting, we have a great amount of turtle diversity we can potentially see,” Coleman said. “We have seen nine in this project thus far. One we haven’t seen is potentially a federally endangered species located in the Black Warrior River Basin.

“Alabama is a great place to do this kind of project,” he added. “Unfortunately, when you are looking at these certain habitats, you see some of the threats including sediments that choke out the habitats of freshwater species, habitat fragmentation during economic development, illegal poaching and climate change. So Alabamians need to do a better job in caring for these habitats.”

Through projects like the Urban Turtle Project, important data can be collected to track the health and abundance of the turtle populations and understand the environmental conditions.

Some of the species discovered include the striped-neck musk, stinkpot musk, Gulf Coast spiny softshell, Northern map, common snapper, Alabama map, river cooter and the alligator snapping turtle. Two species have become a focus point to the Urban Turtle Project: the Alabama map turtle and the alligator snapping turtle.

Alabama map turtles are common to the area and protected, he said.

“The name map turtle is given to them because of the map-like markings on their carapace [shell covering the back],” Coleman said. “These turtles can live over 20 years in rivers and streams with muddy and rocky bottoms. They play an integral part of the river and stream habitats. They are often seen basking on logs, often slipping in the water at the least disturbance.”

The alligator snapping turtle is the largest freshwater turtle and can live up to 80 years. “The alligator snapping turtle has an adapted tongue allowing them to catch prey using a lure in its mouth,” Coleman said. “… They are known to eat juvenile alligator snappers and other turtles.”

The project encompasses three major basins including the Cahaba River, Black Warrior River and Coosa River, plus creeks and tributaries that flow into them. More than 60 volunteers have joined Coleman during sampling weekends in the mud and muck to check tracks and look for turtles, and they have donated more than 150 hours of their time to help collect and process more than 200 turtles.

“There are different methods of collecting turtles,” Coleman said. “One is through field service, where volunteers are sent out to the different areas to look for turtles. Another method is using hoop nets, which [are] extended out and baited.”

Hoop nets are tubular shaped nets with a series of hoops tapered and spaced along the length of the net to keep it open.

“The turtles smell the bait and come into the trap,” Coleman said. “They cannot escape, but still are able too get to the surface to breath and are not in any danger. We can also invert the hoop net to catch the basking turtles.”

After collecting turtles, the study begins. Coleman processes each turtle by taking measurements of their shell, tagging them with a unique number and collecting blood samples to check mercury levels. Tags are placed on the bottom edge of shell, which causes no harm to the turtle. Softshell turtles receive a tattoo, as their shell is much softer.

“With this data, we can answer some relevant questions about their species,” Coleman said. “Answers to population, survival, health, competition and movement. We can then compare the population to a more rural habitat that is not as impacted by urban problems, but we have to collect long term data.”

Data, Coleman hopes, will eventually span a decade or more.

The next step is releasing the turtles, which Coleman said is a favorite of many volunteers and key to the project.

“After we process the turtles, we release them back into their habitat,” Coleman said. “I always am asked if I have turtles as pets. I don’t keep any turtles. They are horrible pets. They are stinky and are messy eaters. We release every turtle collected because we want to track these calculations over time.”

Although the project has gained support from the city of Homewood’s environmental commission, Cahaba River Society, Cahaba Riverkeeper and Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Coleman hopes to seek grant funding in the near future as he transitions into an assistant professor at Talladega College. It’s an opportunity, he says, to engage students to this project.

For those interested in further supporting the Urban Turtle Project, Coleman has set up a GoFundMe page. Donated funds will be used to purchase equipment and supplies that will directly improve the accuracy of the information that is collected from the turtles. Volunteers are also welcomed by visiting the Urban Turtle Project Facebook page.