The Clemson Turtle Team

The Clemson Turtle Team is assisting Emma Rogers, a Masters student at Clemson University, as she conducts her Master's thesis research. The goal of the project is to determine the impact of urban development on the movement and behavior of the Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) in the Clemson area. Through a combination of field surveys with a wildlife detection dog and outreach efforts in local communities during the summer and fall of 2022, the team found and tagged 15 turtles, 13 of which were tracked at least once per week for 16 months.

 

By the end of this study we hope to have a better understanding of the effect of urban development on the home range size and resource selection of the Eastern box turtle in the Clemson area. Improving our understanding of how urban development impacts the species will help inform private and protected land management practices to promote the persistence of the species in this portion of its range. This study also provides us with the opportunity to analyze the effectiveness of social outreach and citizen science as tools in wildlife research.

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This study is being funded by the Margaret H. Lloyd Endowment, which was created through a donation to Clemson University from Margaret Lloyd to support community development through environmental education and research. The endowment also supports urban ecology research such as the previous work of Clemson Masters student Marion Clément​, who conducted a study on the urban ecology of the Barred Owl. The Margaret H. Lloyd endowment supports research projects that help further our understanding of human-wildlife interactions and wildlife persistence in urban areas. You can visit this link to learn more about the amazing work being done with the support of the Margaret H. Lloyd Endowment.