Response of turtles to differences in water quality in Wisconsin.

... RESPONSE OF TURTLES TO DIFFERENCES IN WATER QUALITY IN WISCONSIN Laura Gintz, Adam Zickus, Adam Baldwin, Brenda Boddiger Introduction Turtle populations have been declining steadily in the past 100 years (Tyning, 1997). This decline in turtle populations, including many "common" species in North America, has caused an increase of research in studying the status of turtle populations (Lovich 1995, DonnerWright et al. 1999). There is increasing evidence that degraded water quality may be reducing turtle populations, but little research has been done to determine if it is true (Bergeron et al. 1994, Donnerwright et al. 1999, Gibbon et al. 2000). Turtles utilize terrestrial and aquatic habitats, so they might prove to be valuable biological indicators of the habitat quality. Many have come to recognize reptiles as a part of natural ecosystems and as heralds of environmental quality (Gibbons and Stangel 1999). This study will determine the abundance of turtles in areas with different

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