Posts Tagged ‘hatchling’

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Tiny Hatchling Beats Cold Front by a Nose

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

Three Gram Second-Chance Terrapin Hatchling

“There’s always one more.”  That’s the motto of the Paludal Posse, our terrapin research and conservation team on Outer Cape Cod.  There’s always one more nest to find, one more nest to hatch, one more turtle in the nest, one more hatchling to emerge, one more turtle to save.  In short, there’s always one more.  And so it was proven again this weekend as we prepared our last batch of terrapin hatchlings for release on Tuesday, a promised mild October day.

Terrapin Hatchling and Second-Chance Egg from Nest 996

Sue counted 20 second-chance hatchlings soaking in 70F water to prepare for their sprint to freedom.  Second-chance hatchlings?  What the heck are second-chance hatchlings?  As we harvest emerging nests that have mostly hatched and other nests that have been exposed by predators, we often find a couple of unhatched eggs left behind.  Most of these eggs are in good shape and need only a couple days more incubation.  A few, though, look pretty sad; dimpled, dented, dehydrated, discolored, and so on.  These eggs wouldn’t make it in the wild.  Still, we prefer to give every turtle egg a chance even if it has only a small probability of survival.  So, these long-shot eggs go into our mystical, magical second-chance bucket, filled wtih clean, moist natal sand and warmed first naturally in our sun room until early October and then under a heat lamp in our lab until successfully hatched or all hope is exhausted.  We always have Halloween hatchlings, usually have Thanksgiving babies and occasionally find a pair of cute dark eyes staring up at us on Christmas morning.  (ASIDE:  Can there be a more powerful holiday message?) 

So, as Sue collected the 20 lucky babies for their trip back into the wild, she scanned the second-chance bucket and yelled in exclamation, “We’ve got another one!”  To which I sagely replied, “Yep.  There’s always one more.”

Perfect October Day for Second-Chance Hatchling Release

We made it to Turtle Point on Lieutenant Island while the weather held; 63F, gentle breeze and warming sunshine.  But a careful look at the clouds streaming above reminded us that a storm front approached. 

2nd Chance Hatchling and 20 Siblings Released at Turtle Point

The sand at Turtle Point had baked through the morning and reflected warmth as we sat down to release our 21 charges.  Placing them in a single bunch near the wrack line on the downward sloping dune, we watched as they scattered in random directions and power bursts.  Soon they had all disappeared into the nursery surroundings, some into upland vegetation, others into downland wrack and Spartina salt marsh, and still others burrowed into the warm dune sand.

Last Sailboat Dances with Northeast Blow in Blackfish Creek

Within an hour the weather had closed in.  The cold front arrived with gusts whistling across the narrow Outer Cape peninsula from the North Atlantic.  Clouds massed and grayed; white caps appeared; and we were doused in cold droplets whether from rain or briny spray we couldn’t tell.

“There’s Always One More” Egg in Second-Chance Bucket

Back in our warm, comfortable lab office Tuesday evening we inventoried our terrapin assets.  Tanks empty and ready.  Second-chance bucket filled with potential.  And our hopes high for one more miracle.

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The New Naturalists: Next Generation of Herpetologists

Wednesday, September 24th, 2008

Young Herpetologist Meets Her First Terrapin Hatchling

The most sacred duty of any naturalist, especially one with thinning silver locks, involves sharing the experience of Nature and recruiting successors among the next generation to continue the critical mission of observation, documentation and conservation.  While my colleagues and I employ undergraduate and graduate interns each season to “learn the trade” of field science, our special joy comes from opportunites to engage with the youngest scientists, those for whom an adventure in the wild becomes a transformational experience that may change the course of their lives and the future of our world. 

Don Lewis and Young Herpetologists with Terrapin Hatchlings

Partnering with such exceptional conservation advocates as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, the National Marine Life Center, the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, and Massachusetts Marine Educators (among too many others to mention in a short post), we have had the privilege to introduce children from nine months to nine decades to Nature through the unparalleled teaching model of turtles.  Seemingly helpless hatchlings melt the hardest hearts.  I’ve watched jaded curmudgeons with expressions so sour they could change sunshine into hail; I watched their eyes mist as they witnessed a tiny hatchling poke its head through its eggshell at the instant of birth.  For children who come to the field with fewer preconceptions of the natural world, these interactions are pure joy.

Discovering a Hatchling as It Emerges from the Egg

Because turtles, and especially hatchlings, appear so accessible to children, they create an immediate and tangible link with Nature.  In decades of wildlife research and education, we have never encountered a person WITHOUT a turtle story to tell.  Often an octogenarian will smile the smile of a todler as her eyes beam and she tells the tale of how her dad introduced her to a baby turtle he had found in the pond behind their home.

Baby Meets Baby

We can never forget the young girl who eagerly and tenderly held a four-year-old snapping turtle at the Earth Day celebration at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary in 2003.  We wonder how she showed no fear of what this then timid turtle would become as it grew into a mighty and fearsome snapper.  She simply felt the joy of touching Nature in such a personal way.

Four-Year-Old Meets Four-Year-Old Snapping Turtle

During field season, we use every opportunity to involve children in our research, especially when releasing critters back into the wild.  On the beaches of the Outer Cape, the setting is perfect for youngsters to meet turtles in a completely natural venue and to learn about them in ways that books simply can never convey.

Turtles Create Transformational Moments

A message from today’s post?  Take every opportunity to introduce children to Nature and show them critters in their natural habitat.  The rewards of the moment will be enormous as you see pure, honest joy burst across their faces.  But this singular experience will pay dividends for a lifetime as memories form touchstones that will shape the course of their lives and the future of our world.  Bring your family into Nature and see what futures you, too, can create.

Hatchlings Released into Nursery Salt Marsh off Turtle Point

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As Arrival of Fall Speeds Up, Turtles Slow Down in the Great White North

Thursday, September 18th, 2008

Raw, blustery September has gripped terrapin nesting sites on the Outer Cape.  As temperatures plunge, hatchlings hunker down in their underground hide-aways, snoozing in the warm darkness, hoping and waiting for a sunny respite to heat up the sand and their bodies for the sprint from nest to safety in the abutting nursery habitat.

Temperatures Begin to Plunge Below 55F Activity Threshold

Yet, while they wait with quiet patience, predators act.  Mammals and insects sniff the odor of organic material issuing from the pipped eggshells.  These predators take advantage of the hatchlings’ stupor to snatch an easy meal.

Lethargic Hatchling and Potentially Viable Egg

Nest 996 fell victim to secretive plant and insect predators.  As we excavated the nest in the morning chill, we encountered egg after egg that had been attacked by roots, stilting embryo development and piercing the shell.  Once the egg is cracked, insects stream in and consume the organic material.  Near the bottom of the nest, we found a seemingly lifeless hatchling wrapped in an eggshell that we would have instantly discarded as non-viable.  Peeling the shell away, we found a healthy, if motionless hatchling.  And at the bottom of the nest, we removed one potentially viable egg that has been carefully transplanted to the “second chance” bucket where eggs go to finish incubation and hopefully achieve their full potential.

Excavating Six Sluggish Hatchlings

A few feet away we discovered a concavity in the sand that indicated that a pipped nest might lie beneath.  About four inches under the surface we found a half dozen hatchlings, some pipped but still inside eggshells, but others just snoozing the chill away.  Check out these sluggish babies once they are excavated as they lie about like cordwood, waiting for sunshine to warm their bodies before dashing to freedom.

September weather in the Great White North can be cruel for tiny hatchlings.  But a saving hand can make a world of difference for this threatened species by dramatically increasing the number of live hatchlings that enter the ecosystem each year.

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Headcount!

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Emergence Hole About 1.5 Inches Long x 0.5 Inch Wide

Today brought a cool overcast to the Outer Cape as September’s autumn preview now grips the Land of Ooze.  Hatching had slowed to a crawl as temperatures fell and clouds rose.  So, we expected little from our afternoon rounds that began at Griffin Island where the truly northernmost terrapins in the world reside, stopped by Indian Neck on the north shore of Blackfish Creek and crossed over to Lieutenant Island on the south shore.

Another Emerge Hole, Same Size as Previous

Surprise!  Emergence holes and emerging nests greeted us at every stop.  Two on Griffin Island:  one on the shoulder of an asphalt road and only about five inches deep because mother hit pavement, and the other along a boardwalk leading to the Herring River salt marsh.  Eight live hatchlings emerged from the first nest and four succumbed to maggot depredation.  Sixteen hatchlings escaped from the second nest into the salt marsh.

Camouflaged Emergence Hole

When I spotted the emergence hole for the second nest, I burst into laughter.  A clump of pine needles had obviously been blown atop the hole by a recent storm.  But it looked so carefuly placed so as to camouflage the nest and give emerging hatchlings cover from predators as they bolted into the safety of the Herring River marsh.

I also hadn’t noticed until this posting the near identical similarity in shape of the first two emergence holes pictured above.  Sure, these critters are nearly identically sized at the hatchling stage, ~ 2.7 cm carapace length and ~ 6 grams mass; but after observing the chaos of an emerging nest (see the video clip below), I’m amazed by the twin shapes. 

Count the Heads as They Emerge

We arrived at the Indian Neck nest just as the clutch began to broil.  Heads popped up for a peek of their brave new world and quickly receded again under the dirt … to be replaced by a new set of darting eyes.  Try keeping a headcount as babies appear.  These thirteen lively characters could easily convert this performance art into a comedy circus routine that I would gladly book for a World Tour.

Hatchling Emerges from Nest; Note Pointy Egg Tooth

The shifting dune sand on the Hook of Lieutenant Island makes finding an emergence hole impossible, except immediately after a drenching rain storm.  No such meteorological assist was in the cards.  One hundred percent overcast, but no rain.  Still, luck played in our favor.  We first spotted a collection of hatchling tracks slaloming across the dune slopes.  Tracing these signs back to a convergence point, we ran smack dab into a terrapin hatchling just emerging from the nest.  Behind this baby, three more waited their turn to make a break for freedom.

Nest Completely Depredated by Fly Maggots

While we rejoiced in more than 75 live emerged hatchlings documented during our rounds this afternoon, we did have one sad encounter.  Nest 210, which we had been monitoring since June on the Boathouse dune, had been completely depredated by fly maggots that had consumed all the hatchlings, leaving  behind only a thin layer of each carapace.

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“All Work and No Play” Hatchling Style

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Yes. Hatching, emerging and dashing into hiding is very serious business for diamondback terrapin hatchlings. One mis-step and you become a predator snack. Still, that’s no reason to avoid an opportunity for a little fun en route to the safety of the nursery salt marsh.

Terrapin Hatchling “Playfully” Slide Down Dune

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