{"id":5582,"date":"2001-06-07T20:26:46","date_gmt":"2001-06-08T01:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5582"},"modified":"2010-03-26T20:39:02","modified_gmt":"2010-03-27T01:39:02","slug":"black-jack-%e2%80%94-7-june-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5582","title":{"rendered":"Black Jack! \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 7 June 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"06-07-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Terrapins Swimming through Blackfish Creek Rip<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to even describe a day with so much activity and diversity.\u00c2\u00a0 In the end, though, we hit Blackjack! \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 21, that is.<\/p>\n

This morning conditions improved in Blackfish Creek.\u00c2\u00a0 Winds subsided and water cleared.\u00c2\u00a0 So, terrapins passing through the tide drained rapids became quite visible.\u00c2\u00a0 We netted a baker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dozen.\u00c2\u00a0 Nine females, four males.\u00c2\u00a0 Four were recaptures; nine were observed for the first time.\u00c2\u00a0 Lots of juveniles with nine turtles 6 years old or younger.<\/p>\n

\"06-07-2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Research Assistant Maureen Examines Captured Terrapin<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

After an orientation session on Great Island, action moved to a very different venue from the marsh creeks.\u00c2\u00a0 We loaded a canoe and drove to high tide flooded Chipman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cove, a large protected basin abutting Wellfleet\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s town pier and harbor.\u00c2\u00a0 Here the technique involves a daring gymnast standing at the bow of the canoe with a dip net on a ten foot pole, spotting turtles hiding among thickets of dense vegetation amid gushy mud flats.\u00c2\u00a0 The other member of the pair powers the boat in zigs and zags to mirror the escape route of fleeing terrapins.\u00c2\u00a0 One false step and canoe and canoeists disappear into the soft underbelly of the Land of Ooze.<\/p>\n

\"06-07-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Female Terrapin Hiding in Seaweed and Marsh Grass<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, not only did all survive, but we managed to net another eight turtles.\u00c2\u00a0 Seven females and one male.\u00c2\u00a0 One recapture and seven first timers.\u00c2\u00a0 Only two were juveniles and all the rest adults \u00e2\u20ac\u201d excluding the canoeists, of course.<\/p>\n

\"06-07-4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Female Terrapin #726 in Chipman’s Cove<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

The one recapture was particularly rewarding.\u00c2\u00a0 First seen three years ago on 12 June 1998, Terrapin 726 was a 5-year-old who measured 12.4 centimeters and weighed 310 grams.\u00c2\u00a0 Researchers at the time identified #726 as male.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though these measurements fell within the parameters of a male, my experimental model for distinguishing gender for individuals, which do not yet show secondary sex characteristics, spotlighted this identification as incorrect.\u00c2\u00a0 The model predicted female. I noted this prediction in an amended database entry.\u00c2\u00a0 Today Terrapin 726 was netted again: a beautiful, sexually mature, 17-centimeter, 800-gram FEMALE.\u00c2\u00a0 SHE is pictured\u00c2\u00a0above shortly after release.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"06-07-5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Diamondback Terrapins Released after Processing<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

All things considered, a very good day at the end of the terrapin universe.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Terrapins Swimming through Blackfish Creek Rip\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard to even describe a day with so much activity and diversity.\u00c2\u00a0 In the end, though, we hit Blackjack! \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 21, that is. This morning conditions improved in Blackfish Creek.\u00c2\u00a0 Winds subsided and water cleared.\u00c2\u00a0 So, terrapins passing through the tide drained rapids became quite visible.\u00c2\u00a0 We netted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5582"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5582"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5582\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5597,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5582\/revisions\/5597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}