LAKE COUNTY LEADER & ADVERTISER (Polson, Montana) 29 August 03 'Why did the turtle cross the road?' (Summer Beeks)
Photo: The Western Montana Painted Turtle, a native turtle species that can be found in the Ninepipes area, has a colorful underbelly of yellow and orange that is like a thumbprint. Every one is different. (Summer Beeks/Leader)
Ninepipes: If you've driven Highway 93 along the Ninepipes area recently, you've probably seen people knee deep or better seining the ponds.
Those people - UM student Kathy Griffin and crew - aren't fishing illegally. They're doing research on the Western Montana Painted Turtle.
"A lot of people ask what we're doing," Griffin said.
"Why did the turtle cross the road? Population dynamics of Western Montana Painted Turtles" is the thesis Kathy Griffin is researching for her doctoral study under the direction of the University of Montana Wildlife Biology department.
Through research, Griffin is trying to determine population size, patterns of movement and survival rates for the Western Montana Painted Turtle in the Ninepipe area.
Griffin and her crew of four can be found almost any given day trapping turtles in the many Ninepipes ponds.
After they catch the turtles by trap or through seining, the crew then measures the turtles, determines age and sex, and then marks each one so they can tell if they are moving.
The crew then releases the turtles where they found them.
So far, Griffin has documented over 1,500 turtles. The longest distance one has traveled has been a mile.
Griffin reports that Ninepipe ponds are quickly drying up and that the turtles are being forced to look for other water and may already be looking for ponds deep enough to hibernate in for the winter.
This, among other reasons, could be an explanation for why the turtles are crossing Highway 93.
Griffin explained that the turtles look for deep ponds with really muddy bottoms, then burrow under the mud and stay there, under the water and under the ice all winter.
While hibernating, the turtle's body temperature drops and their heart beats only once every 15 minutes.
"It's actually really fascinating...they're barely alive down there," she said.
The turtles breathe through sacks located in their throat, cheeks and rear end.
These sacks, Griffin explained, are covered by thin membranes that allow oxygen to pass into the blood stream.
In this way, even though they are under water and mud, turtles are able to extract oxygen from their environment while hibernating.
The turtles have to hibernate in deep ponds, she said, because if the ponds freeze solid, then the turtles will die.
Since the deepest ponds are the ones that haven't dried up, Griffin is fairly sure that these remaining ponds are important for turtle hibernation.
Last summer when the drought occurred, what used to be 50-60 area ponds were reduced to 20. This year's drought has lowered that number to about eight or nine, Griffin reports.
Aside from catching and identifying turtles in ponds, another aspect of Griffin's research involves counting dead turtles along the highway.
"We walk the highway once a week and pick up and count all of the dead turtles. Being in the ponds and looking at how beautiful the turtles are, is the fun part - counting dead turtles isn't," she said.
But she added that counting dead turtles is important as it shows where the majority of turtles are crossing the highway.
Griffin, who is working in coordination with the Montana Department of Transportation, then uses this information to help the department decide where to put culverts under the road when highway 93 is reconstructed.
According to Griffin, over 360 turtles were killed on the highway last year.
It is hoped that by putting culverts underneath the highway where most turtles cross, that the turtles will use the culverts rather than cross over the top.
Griffin also looks at the age and sex of the turtles being killed to determine why they're moving and if the number of turtles being killed on the road is affecting the population.
This is the second summer Griffin has spent doing field research, next summer will be her last. After her research is complete, Griffin will compile and analyze her findings.
She will relate her thesis to movement patterns of animals and habitat connectivity.
Griffin expects to graduate in May 2005 with a Doctorate in Wildlife Biology and hopes to stay in the area provided she's able find a job.
"I'd like to teach," she said.
Griffin added that she enjoys speaking to groups, classes or clubs about the turtles. For more information or to schedule a presentation, call Kathy Griffin at (406) 544-9937.
'Why did the turtle cross the road?'