Occurrences

Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.

Habitat

Spotted Turtles require clean, shallow bodies of standing or slow-flowing water with muddy or mucky bottoms and aquatic or emergent vegetation. Although Spotted Turtles are considered fairly aquatic, they are frequently found on land in open habitats, especially during mating and nesting seasons. In early spring, Spotted Turtles spend a great deal of time basking on logs, muskrat houses and grass or sedge hummocks. At night and during hot weather, they burrow under vegetation or into the soil or muddy bottoms of the wetland or crawl into mammal burrows. They overwinter in shallow water in the mud or in mammal burrows or lodges.

Natural Community Types

• Bog
• Coastal plain marsh
• Dry-mesic prairie
• Dry-mesic southern forest
• Emergent marsh
• Great lakes marsh
• Interdunal wetland
• Inundated shrub swamp
• Lakeplain wet prairie
• Lakeplain wet-mesic prairie
• Mesic prairie
• Mesic sand prairie
• Mesic southern forest
• Northern fen
• Northern wet meadow
• Oak barrens
• Open dunes
• Prairie fen
• Rich tamarack swamp
• Southern hardwood swamp
• Southern shrub-carr
• Southern wet meadow
• Wet prairie
• Wet-mesic sand prairie

Methodology

Management Recommendations

Spotted Turtles are characterized by late sexual maturity and low reproductive potential, suggesting that high annual survivorship of adults and juveniles is critical for maintaining a stable population. Extant populations and suitable wetland and nesting habitats should be protected and maintained. Increased protection of small, non-contiguous wetlands is important for maintaining sufficient habitat. Implementing minimum development setback distances, leaving buffer zones during agricultural and land management operations, maintaining good water quality and hydrologic integrity, minimizing the construction of roads in or near suitable wetlands, and minimizing the use of road salt near wetlands would be beneficial to this species. Maintaining suitable open upland nesting areas (e.g., through woody vegetation management) also would benefit this species. Altering the timing of land use activities (e.g., working in upland habitats during the winter between November and March when Spotted Turtles are hibernating in the water or wetland) could help minimize the potential for adverse impacts to this species. Predator control and on-site protection of nest sites may be warranted to increase reproductive success. Minimizing road mortality and removal/collection of turtles from the wild also would benefit Spotted Turtle populations. Providing connectivity among populations to allow for genetic exchange also is vital for preserving the long-term viability of this species.

Active Period

Active from fourth week of March to third week of October

Breeding from fourth week of March to fourth week of May

Nesting from first week of June to fourth week of June

Survey Methods

The best time to survey for this species is in early spring during the mating season, from March through May, before the vegetation gets too tall and/or dense. The best way to survey for this species is to conduct visual encounter surveys which would consist of first searching suitable wetland habitats from a distance with binoculars or a spotting scope and scanning for individuals swimming in the water or basking in or along the wetland. This would be followed by slowly walking around the habitat, looking for turtles in the water or basking in or on vegetation or woody debris.

Visual encounter surveys

Survey Period: From fourth week of March to fourth week of May

Time of Day: Daytime
Cloud Cover: Clear
Air Temperature: Above 60 degrees
Wind: Light Breeze

References

Survey References

• Karns, D.R. 1986. Field Herpetology: Methods for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles in Minnesota. Occ. Pap. No. 18. J.F. Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Technical References

• Belmore, B. 1980. The basic ecology of the spotted turtle Clemmys guttata (Schneider) in Massachusetts. Journal of Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists 6:5-13.

• Conant, R. 1951. The Reptiles of Ohio. Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame. 284pp.

• Ernst, C.H. 1976. Ecology of the spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata (Reptilia, Testudines, Testudinidae), in southeastern Pennsylvania. Journal of Herpetology 10(1):25-33.

• Ernst, C.H., J.E. Lovich, and R.W. Barbour. 1994. Turtles of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. 578pp.

• Harding, J.H. 1997.Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Lakes Region. The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor. 378pp.

• Hunter, M.L., J. Albright and J. Arbuckle, eds. 1992. The amphibians and reptiles of Maine. Maine Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin 838:188pp.

• Kingsbury, B. and J. Gibson, eds. 2002. Habitat Management Guidelines for Amphibians and Reptiles of the Midwest. Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. 57pp.

• Lee, Y. 2000. Special Animal Abstract for Clemmys guttata (Spotted turtle). Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Lansing, MI. 4pp.

• Minton, S.A. 1972. Amphibians and Reptiles of Indiana. Indiana Academy of Science, Indianapolis. 3: 346pp.

• Smith, P.W. 1961. The amphibians and reptiles of Illinois. Illinois Natural History Survey, Carbondale. Bulletin No. 28. 298 pp.

• Ward, F.P., C.J. Hohmann, J.F. Ulrich, and S.E. Hill. 1976. Seasonal microhabitat selections of spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in Maryland elucidated by radioisotope tracking. Herpetologica 32:60-64.

More Information

• Clemmys guttata abstract