Intensive long-term surveys of mark-recapture populations are necessary to acquire demographic information for a long-lived species like alligator snapping turtles (AST)

This federal Project Grant award from the U.S. Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service, under the Cooperative Endangered Species Conservation Fund (CFDA 15.615) program, provides $213,333.34 to the State of Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks (MDWFP) for a 3-year intensive long-term study of alligator snapping turtle (AST) populations.

The project has two main components: 1) mark-recapture surveys at five established AST populations across four major river drainages in Mississippi, and 2) field surveys at up to 20 previously sampled sites to assess the species' distribution, population abundances, and the spatial extent of threats such as hook ingestion. This research will gather critical demographic data, including adult and juvenile survivorship, growth rates, clutch sizes, and population abundance estimates. The findings will inform population viability analyses, recovery planning, and conservation efforts for this long-lived, secretive turtle species.

This large-bodied, secretive species presents logistical challenges for long-term survey efforts resulting in few mark-recapture populations and a resulting lack of demographic information. To address this data GAP and better inform population viability analyses for future mdwfp and U.S. Fish and wildlife service actions including five-year reviews and recovery documents, this project includes two major components: 1) mark-recapture surveys at five sites and 2) field surveys at up to 20 sites. Extensive mark-recapture surveys will be conducted at five established populations in four major river drainages of mississippi (by one PHD and one MS student). Two large populations occur on national wildlife refuges (nwrs) with protective regulations in place, and three occur on public waterways where recreational harvest and set fishing lines occur. In addition to geographic distribution and abundance data, these surveys will provide updated demographic information including adult and juvenile survivorship, growth rates, clutch sizes, proportion of females that breed annually, and population abundance estimates. Information will also be collected about current threats including proportion of turtles with ingested hooks and the impact of hook ingestion on survivorship. Field surveys at up to 20 previously sampled sites across the state will further refine the species distribution, estimate population abundances, and assess the spatial extent of hook ingestion in relation to public access (e.g., vicinity to boat ramps) and differential fishing regulations (e.g., nwrs and other public waterways). The information gained from this study will inform population viability analyses and other assessments. In addition, the results of this study provide a foundation for future recovery efforts by improving our knowledge of spatial extent of threats, locating populations with minimal threats, comparing threat levels on protected and non-protected lands, and assessing how specific threats impact survival and in turn, potential recovery rates.