Spotted turtle

The spotted turtle’s range is limited to eastern North America from Ontario and Quebec in the north to Florida in the south. The western limit of its range is Michigan and Indiana.

Spotted turtles spend the majority of their time in slow moving, shallow waters with a soft bottom of marshy vegetation including sphagnum moss, cattails, and water lilies just to name a few. These aquatic plants are important in the spotted turtle’s habitat. These shallow water ecosystems include bogs, marshes, swamps, ponds, streams, etc. They can occasionally be found swimming in slightly deeper waters. This species occasionally wanders on land to nest. Various moist sites along wetlands are sometimes used for hibernation.

Spotted turtles mainly feed in water. Their diet may include vegetation matter such as aquatic grasses and green algae. They’ll also consume aquatic insect larvae, small crustaceans, snails, and tadpoles.

Spotted turtles breed between March and May. Breeding can occur both on land and underwater. A female turtle usually has about 2 to 8 eggs in the nest. Females only lay eggs once or twice a year. The gestation period lasts about 70 to 80 days.

The sex of the turtles in the eggs is dependent on temperatures in the surrounding environment. Higher temperatures normally produce females and lower temperatures normally produce males.

Although spotted turtles may be found throughout much New Jersey, there are still some threats to this species. Habitat destruction, road mortality, predation, collection for pet trade purposes, and pollution are just a few threats facing this species. Habitat destruction is a major reason for the population decline of spotted turtles in this state.

Habitat destruction and fragmentation isolate individuals from finding mates and food. This causes local populations to decline in numbers or become extirpated from an area. Their slow reproductive rate does not allow for a fast recovery if a local population losses several individuals in a given amount of time.

Many species of turtles are highly sought for their use in the illegal pet trade (one of the world’s most profitable markets). Many people illegally collect turtles to breed in captivity for use as pets. Another conservation concern is the impact of high mortality rates from impacts with motor vehicles. Many roads transect suitable habitat for spotted turtles and many turtles that enter roadways die each year.

These threats have exacerbated their decline and due to that fact the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Endangered and Nongame Species Program have listed them as a Species of Special Concern. This listing will mostly importantly help garner protection through enhanced habitat protection of suitable or critical habitat for spotted turtles.