About This Project

Diamondback terrapins are a keystone species in salt marshes and estuaries. These turtles are being threatened by coastal erosion, loss of salt marsh habitat, road mortality, and are at a high risk for entrapment in crab pots. In 2019 it was found that individual terrapins can be seen in footage taken with drones. Therefore with the use of a drone a more accurate population assessment can be conducted in order to determine population health.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

The Southcoast Terrapin Project has been studying Diamondback Terrapins in Buzzards Bay since 2016. The project has been focused on mature female terrapins due to them being easy to catch during nesting season leaving us without an accurate demographic. Unlike other research areas, such as Wellfleet Bay, we cannot step out into the marsh to catch terrapins due to the unsafe sediment and deep water of the channels. Since we were already flying drones to map the erosion of fragile barrier beaches where the turtles nest we decided to see if we could use the drones to explore hard to reach areas. It was then that we found that we could see and count individual terrapins in hard to reach areas with little to no disturbance to the habitat or the animals.

What is the significance of this project?

In August of 2020 an environmental police officer pulled up a crab pot in Wareham, Massachusetts that had 27 drowned terrapins in it. Since the start of the Southcoast Terrapin Project in 2016 numerous terrapins have washed ashore dead, presumably from crab and lobster pots. Since the population in southern Massachusetts remains unknown it is important to determine the population in order to know how they are being affected by incidental catch such as this. Many states have already documented this as a key factor in the decline of terrapin populations, but terrapins in the Southcoast region are understudied and many things about them remain unknown. As a keystone species in salt marsh habitat it is crucial to learn as much as we can about this species before it is too late.

What are the goals of the project?

Buzzards Bay consists of numerous coves and inlets where Terrapins can be found. Over thirty areas where terrapins can be found have already been documented. A protocol for collecting images of terrapins in these areas using a DJI drone has already been created. This protocol makes sure to fly at the same height, time, and use the same starting and ending locations. In addition a habituation period at the beginning and the end of the flight is necessary to make sure that any terrapins spooked during the initial take off of the drone can come back to the surface and stay in the transect region. At the end of the season all imagery will be analyzed to determine if this is a plausible solution to determine population for the region.