Are we interfering with nature?
A passerby moves a turtle across the road in the direction it was headed
With turtle road crossing assistance becoming more popular, the public are more involved than ever with helping turtle populations. Conservation efforts are assisting turtles in their travels across roads, aiding injured turtles, bringing turtles to wildlife rehab centers, incubating eggs (must have a permit to do this), putting up exclusion fencing, creating passageways for turtles, checking on their breeding grounds, putting up nest protectors, and more. This is great news for turtles on the move, but some do wonder; are we interfering with nature? Are the steps we’re taking unnatural, and should we just let turtles do their thing?
Some might argue that we should not be preventing nature from taking its course. We have all heard the familiar sayings “The Strong Survive” or “Don’t force, let nature take its course.” Join us in exploring how this applies to Ontario’s turtles, and to what extent we are interfering with nature!
Table of contents
Inadvertent Negative Interference
To consider how our turtle conservation efforts are interfering with nature, we must first consider what challenges turtles are facing due to humans. Humans have long been impacting turtle populations in our efforts to improve our own lives. Though we may not intend to cause harm with our actions, the reality is that humans create many obstacles to turtles’ thriving and having a healthy population. The main challenges faced by turtles include;
Habitat loss and fragmentation
Fragmentation refers to turtles’ natural habitats being divided into smaller pieces with urban areas and roads breaking the viable habitat into smaller and smaller sections
Habitat loss is mainly due to development of human projects; roads, suburbs, and cities all encroach on natural areas
Road Mortality
Turtles dying from getting hit by vehicles on roads is the second biggest danger to turtles after habitat loss.
Poaching
Turtles and turtle eggs are illegally poached by humans for food and the exotic pet trade. Note: It is illegal to keep a native turtle as a pet here in Ontario, but unfortunately this does not deter illegal trade of turtles
Boating Mortalities, Fishing Bycatch
Turtles are often struck and killed or injured by motorized boats and pleasure crafts
Turtles get entangled in or ingest fishing lines, or they are accidentally caught in nets or lines by fishermen which can lead to their death
Predation inadvertently supported by humans
Some of the natural predators of turtles (e.g. raccoons, fox, skunks, and even dogs) can thrive near human populations. As a result, these predators populations are increasing, putting further stress on turtle populations as more and more of their nests are poached by these animals. In addition, habitat loss (caused by human development) limits predator species’ natural hunting areas forcing them to find food in other ways / locations. This may also increase predation of turtle nests as they are an easy food source.
A snapping turtle attempting to cross a busy road (photo from David Seburn, Canadian Wildlife Federation)
Wetlands are habitats for turtles. Often turtles crossing roads are making their way to or from their wetland home for nesting, searching for a mate, and avoiding predators.
DID YOU KNOW?
Canada has lost over 70% of natural wetlands due to human development. This severely limits the living and breeding grounds for our 8 species of turtle here in Ontario.
Status of our turtles in Ontario, due to the aforementioned negative interference
All 8 species of native turtles in Ontario are at risk, some more so than others. The actions conservationists and turtle enthusiasts (like you and I) are taking that may interfere with nature, are actions that are warranted because humans have already interfered - although not intentionally - in a negative manner. We want to mitigate our human impacts on turtles and help recover the harm we have done to turtles by ensuring they do not move into the threatened and endangered categories. Ideally, our interfering actions, such as protecting turtles on the road, can help move turtles out of the “at risk” category altogether by protecting the population!
Blanding’s Turtle: Threatened
Eastern Musk: Special Concern
Northern Map: Special Concern
Painted Turtle: Special Concern
Snapping Turtle: Special Concern
Spiny Softshell: Endangered
Spotted Turtle: Endangered
Wood Turtle: Endangered
Endangered = facing imminent extinction, or extirpation within Canada
Threatened = likely to become endangered if nothing is done to reverse factors impacting population
Special Concern = may become threatened/endangered due to combination of threats and biological characteristics
Purposeful Positive Interference
Now that we have discussed the negative impacts humans have on turtle populations, it is clear to see that we as humans are causing problems for the lives and longevity of turtles. To combat this, our best way to move forward in co-existing with turtles is to alter how we do things with turtles in mind, try to lessen our negative impacts, and help turtles however we can. These methods, although not necessarily “natural”, can be referred to as a purposeful, positive interference in the natural life of turtles. We - the human race - have a responsibility to right our wrongs against turtles and reverse the course of their at-risk status.
A Bright Idea
Have you heard of ecopassages? An ecopassage is a structural wildlife crossing that allows animals to cross dangerous human-made areas (like highways and roads) safely. This can be overtop of the road or underneath it. Ecopassages have been highly successful in Canada (Banff National Park over the Trans Canada Highway, for example) as well as globally, such as in Sweden. Ecopassages are being monitored with cameras to see what kinds of animals benefit, and turtles are no exception! Even the smallest, slowest moving animals will use a safe pathway when presented. On Christmas Island, bridges have been built over the roads to allow red crabs to migrate from the forest to the beach safely. Ecopassages could be the future of turtle conservation. These pathways are another way that we can interfere with nature in a positive way, by guiding and encouraging animals to use a safer alternative route to cross from one place to another.
A painted turtle uses an underground ecopassage in Bruce Peninsula National Park (pg.gc.ca)
Ecopassages aren’t new. They are being used all over Ontario in conjunction with exclusion fencing to keep turtles off roads. In fact, an ecopassage can be as simple as an existing bridge or culvert across a road. It is important for ecopassages and exclusion fencing to be used together so that animals, such as turtles, can be directed away from the dangerous roads and towards the safe crossing structure. At turtles Kingston we advocate on behalf of turtles to get more exclusion fencing and crossing structures in places where turtle road mortality is high (read about a recent exclusion fencing project in Kingston)
What we can do to help turtles / How we should interfere
Volunteer and get involved
Volunteer at a local turtle conservation authority or wildlife centre, or as a volunteer driver! Volunteer drivers are called upon to transport injured or dead turtles to local wildlife rehabilitators. You can indicate your interest in being a volunteer driver in Kingston by becoming a Turtles Kingston member. If you are not able to volunteer, you could also choose to donate to a wildlife centre or turtle conservation authority of your choice to support turtle rehabilitation efforts. We recommend Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre and Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre.
Drive carefully!
We can all help avoid turtle strikes on the road by driving carefully and being aware of our surroundings, particularly during the spring and summer (May - September) when turtles are the most active. Keeping your eyes peeled for turtles is also essential for the next few ways to help.
Report turtle sightings
Reporting where you find turtles assists biologists in gathering valuable data that aids turtle protection programs. Install the iNaturalist or Adopt-A-Pond app on your mobile device so you are ready to report sightings!
Assist injured or deceased turtles
Bring injured or deceased turtles to a local wildlife rehabilation centre for treatment. Check out our blog on helping injured turtles
Help turtles cross the road
Keep an eye out for turtles in your travels. Help turtles safely cross the road by assisting them in the direction they are going. Check out our turtle page on how to move turtles!
Protect turtle nests
If you come across a turtle nest, install a nest protector (available to purchase through our website) and monitor the nest for hatchlings. This keeps nests safe from predators and gives the hatchlings a better chance of survival.
Protect our wetlands
Advocate for the protection of wetlands in Ontario to keep turtle habitats safe and clean. Clean up litter in wetlands that you have access to, and speak up against developments that destroy wetland habitats.
Educate and spread awareness
Each of us have the ability to spread the word that turtles need our help. Speak to your neighbours, family, friends, local councillors, and influential figures about how and why we should help turtles. Support and stand up for the turtles in your area! The more people care and help our turtles, the more positive change we can create.
DID YOU KNOW?
Traveling turtles cannot avoid crossing roads! During a turtle study surrounding the Bruce Peninsula it was found that in Southern Ontario - for example - there are over 35,000 kilometres of roads. No matter where a turtle is moving, a road will be no more than 1.5 kilometres away; you cannot go 2km in Ontario without encountering a road! Turtles can live to over 100 years old, which means there are turtles alive today that predate the first vehicles appearing in Canada. (ontarionature.org)
CALL TO ACTION!
Do you reside in a turtle habitat or pathway? Purchase a Watch for Turtles sign from us! These signs are pleased on your lawn and help alert drivers to watch for turtles when they pass through. We even have turtle hatchling crossing signs available, for if there is a nest on your property where turtle hatchlings will be on the move.
Posting turtle crossing lawn signs is just one way we can take action to help local turtles survive in a world full of human inflicted danger. We hope that exploring ways we have altered the lives of our shelled neighbours show that yes - we are interfering with nature - but we are interfering to cause a positive and necessary change in the lives of turtles, and combat the negative effects humans have had on them for years.