Motorboat Injury Rates and Patterns in Aquatic Turtle Communities

Abstract

We quantified boat traffic and measured frequency of scarring in 9 species of freshwater turtle at 5 sites in northeastern Oklahoma, and overall injury rates increased significantly with increases in boat traffic. One common species at all study sites, Graptemys ouachitensis, exhibited evidence of traumatic injury at a rate 1.5 times higher than the average among sympatric species. Across species, missing hind limbs were 2.4 times more common than missing forelimbs and carapace damage was 1.4 times more prevalent on the posterior half of the shell than the anterior half; we observed no left–to–right bias in the distribution of injuries.