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Here is some documentation from my summer as a research intern at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ.

the back entrance to the institute

the marsh

the observation tower

view from the upper deck

giving homage

our resident terrapins

educational display

crab trap with dead terrapins

one of our many nest exclosures

large female with old carapace injury

sonic telemetry transmitter attached to carapace

terrapin with transmitter attached

terrapin after having its shell repaired with epoxy/fiber glass (it survived getting hit by a car)

getting measurements on a female terrapin

injecting a PIT tag

scanning for PIT tag

fishing out hatchlings from a storm drain

hatchling terrapin, overwintered from last year

terrapins that have been head-started for 1 year at Stockton College

kindergarten release of head-starters (these events receive lots of media attention)

roadkilled hatchlings/juveniles

Liz holding one of the 575 roadkilled females we processed this summer.

getting measurements

Jon makes the first incision

trying to get a hold of the eggs

removing the eggs

some of the removed eggs, within oviduct

comparison between fertilized eggs, and unshelled yolks of future clutches

Liz cleans the eggs

labeling the eggs

eggs after being placed in incubation container

one of the incubators, filled with egg boxes

after about 2 months...

out and about

sunset on the marsh

Edited on August 1, 2008 at 19:08:40 by PHGinger.

Incredible stuff. Thanks for sharing all that!

What are you using to secure the transmitters to the carapace?

First, two small holes are drilled through the rim of the carapace. The transmitter zip-tied onto the carapace, then covered with aquarium cement, or epoxy to secure it.

-Zach

Zach,
That is super fantastic, fantastic stuff!!!!, I just turned 40 and have a well established career in human public health, but if I could go back 20 yrs that is exactly what I would want to do with my summer, what a great experience for you. Super job with the documentation, and thank you so very much for sharing, no doubt that you are an inspiration for those young budding herpers.
575 road kills? wow, thats a lot, but I guess the positive side is that also means there are a lot of turtles in that area too? Did you have any luck hatching our eggs from roadkills?
Keep up the great work!!!
Jeff
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Jeff Benfer

1.0 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.2 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 Okeetee Pantherophis guttatus

thanks so much for the response - yes we do hatch out the eggs taken from roadkills. The photos of the turtles hatching are from eggs obtained from a roadkilled female.

-Zach

Thats great that you are able to salvage a lot of the roadkill eggs and then head start them, we have a lot of adult female snapping turtle road kills around here in the late spring during nesting time, and I was thinking about trying to hatch some eggs just for fun and then let them go in the river, not that the snapping turtles around here need any help, there is plenty around, unfortunately some people dislike them and go out of their way to hit them. A couple of weeks ago I helped a 4-5 inch snapper across the road, I had to straddle my truck over it to keep the car behind me from hitting it, and they had to go around me, which they probably weren't to happy about, but I'm sure they got over the 3 second inconvenience, and the turtle would have surely been smashed by the traffic before making it all the way to the other side of the road where the river was. They are cute when they are little before they get big and ferocious.
-----
Jeff Benfer

1.0 pastel Python regius
1.1 mojave Python regius
0.1 normal Python regius
1.3 Terrapene carolina thriunguis
2.3 Terrapene carolina carolina
4.1 Kinosternon baurii
1.1 Malaclemys terrapin terrapin
2.2 double het albino and anerythristicThamnophis sirtalis parietalis
1.0 anerythristic Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis
2.2 Iowa snow Thamnophis radix
0.2 het Christmas albino Thamnophis radix
1.1 double het cherry erythristic, albino Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 melanistic Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis
1.1 triple heterozygous for amelanistic,carmel, and stripe Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 anerythristic motley Pantherophis guttatus
0.1 Okeetee Pantherophis guttatus

Thats great - currently I have a clutch of 20 snapping turtle eggs that were salvaged from a female killed on the garden state parkway. Should be hatching any day now. I'll be posting pictures soon.

-Zach

I'm very jealous. Very cool stuff. I wish I would have done something similar when I had more free time during my summers in college. Great pics, Zach. Thanks for sharing.

Zack,You are defying their destiny.From road kill to survival post mordem pre egg laing!How Fine! I'm working with some Manouria emys that were on their way to China,but the shippment was busted in Hong Kong.4.5 tons of turtles sent to the USA for rehab by TSA members.Some like mine are reproducing now.We defyed their destiny,so thats what I call my Tortoise Reserve now.defyingdestiny.org Vic