Illegal trade in tortoises and freshwater turtles is an ongoing threat to wild populations. Taking an interdisciplinary approach that draws on perspectives from conservation, criminology, and supply chain management, we describe the Canadian tortoise and freshwater-turtle supply chain and examine the intersection between legal and illegal trade. Leveraging data gathered through federal wildlife enforcement records as well as interviews with vendors, we characterize the actors involved in trade, the species traded, and pathways for legal and illegal trade in Canada. Given current laws, regulations, and information resources, we find that non-native turtles successfully trafficked into Canada are, for the most part, indistinguishable from legally sourced specimens. This reality, coupled with a small captive-bred population, creates the potential for illegal supply chains to provide these turtles for willing purchasers. To reduce the possibility of illegally sourced animals being laundered through legitimate trade, it will be useful to explore and research ways to engage industry, educate pet buyers, and enhance policy to mitigate these realities.

The illegal trade in meat and pets is a well-recognized conservation threat to South Asian tortoises and freshwater turtles. We highlight additional threats from the trade in turtle body parts, particularly in dried calipee of softshell turtles. Evidence from media-reported seizures, publicly available government records, and field-based information suggests that the illegal trade in calipee, which targets endangered softshell turtle species, is more pervasive than previously acknowledged. Between 2007 and January 2024, at least 5351.5 kg of dried calipee (equivalent to 133.8 tons to 246.2 tons of turtles) were seized from South Asia, with several large consignments (more than 500 kg) headed to international destinations, including Hong Kong, China. Given the lack of awareness and enforcement challenges in identifying this product, we expect that the seizures represent a very small percentage of the actual trade. Literature and field-based information suggest that this trade specifically targets endangered softshell turtle species such as Nilssonia gangetica, Nilssonia hurum, Nilssonia leithii, and Chitra indica, further highlighting the conservation concerns surrounding this cryptic trade. We urge the conservation community and law enforcement agencies across Asia, at both source sites and markets, to contribute toward creating a nuanced understanding of this trade and take active measures to mitigate the threat posed by calipee trade to endangered turtles in South Asia.

This study examines the global trade dynamics of Testudo tortoises from 2006 to 2021, using data from the CITES database, and compares it to a prior study between 1975 to 2005. The analysis covers trade volumes, patterns, and sources, highlighting discrepancies in reported figures and the impact of illegal trade. Over this period, 125 countries imported and 97 countries exported Testudo species, with the majority of transactions involving Testudo hermanni, Testudo horsfieldii, and Testudo graeca. The United States emerged as the largest importer, and Germany was the leading exporter. A significant portion of the trade involved live tortoises for the pet industry, with captive-bred sources surpassing wild-caught specimens in later years. However, discrepancies between declared imports and exports suggest ongoing challenges in trade regulation. Statistical analysis indicated varying trends among species, with a noticeable decline in the T. horsfieldii trade after 2017. The study emphasizes the need for enhanced regulatory enforcement and consumer awareness to mitigate illegal trade and promote sustainable practices. It also calls for continued international cooperation to address the socioeconomic drivers of wildlife trafficking. The findings aim to inform policy interventions and conservation strategies to ensure the long-term sustainability and welfare of Testudo populations.

This study investigates the import trends of live Testudines into Japan following a previous study on trade in live freshwater turtles and tortoises as pets in Japan from 1980s to the early 2000s. We have observed a declining trend in imports over the past two decades. However, it is important to note that this does not necessarily indicate a shrinking market; instead, it likely reflects changes driven by stricter regulations for trade and ownership as pets.

Illegal wildlife trade is a complex and lucrative transnational crime that involves social, ecological, cultural, political, and economic factors. It is also a significant conservation challenge that can threaten species, ecosystems, and societies. Although illegal wildlife trade negatively impacts various species, many North American turtle populations are exceptionally vulnerable to the removal of wild individuals due to their life history traits. Some of the key challenges to addressing illegal trade in turtles include shortcomings in laws, regulations, and the criminal justice system; insufficient data to understand the issue; and insufficient resources to combat the issue. Herein, we provide a brief characterization of the illegal turtle trade in North America and describe how a grassroots working group, the Collaborative to Combat the Illegal Trade in Turtles (CCITT), formed in response to this urgent conservation crisis. Our collaborative and adaptive socio-ecological approach includes examples and serves as a case study on how wildlife trafficking can be addressed through identifying the need and scope of the problem, building and expanding a network of core partnerships, defining a strategy, and implementing that strategy in an adaptive and iterative way. Looking ahead, we recognize that the CCITT has gaps in representation and, therefore, a need to expand partnerships as well as work towards the full implementation of our strategic plan. While there will never be a “one-size-fits-all” approach to combating illegal wildlife trade, we maintain that sharing approaches, successes, lessons learned, and outcomes with others outside of the immediate area of focus is critical to advance conservation outcomes.

Turtles are being subjected to unprecedented collection for the illegal wildlife trade, but only a portion of the trade is detected. When confiscations do happen, wildlife agencies must decide what to do with those animals—euthanize them, place them in permanent captivity, or release them back into the wild. We present a case study of a confiscation of > 200 eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) and our efforts to repatriate them back to the wild. Twenty-five percent of turtles died in captivity, and at least another 33% died during the soft-release phase. Approximately half of the confiscated turtles survived until they were released from their soft-release pen 9 months post-confiscation. For each phase, from the time turtles were seized until released, we describe our objectives, the challenges we encountered, and our recommendations for improving future turtle confiscations. Given the extended stressful conditions that confiscated turtles often experience before being seized, it is important to recalibrate our expectations regarding future confiscation outcomes.

The United States Endangered Species Act (ESA) is a powerful tool for protecting imperiled species globally, yet it is currently underutilized for the conservation of freshwater turtles and tortoises. Species listed under the ESA receive meaningful protections that can include a ban on killing and collection in the United States, critical habitat designation to help curtail habitat loss and fragmentation, federal funding for habitat protection and conservation projects, and a ban on exports and imports into the sizeable US market. Here we present a primer on the ESA to encourage scientists and conservationists to engage in the ESA process to enhance global turtle conservation.

Tourism in the Republic of Maldives (Central Indian Ocean) provided significant revenue to the country in 2019 with 1.7 million visitors, many of whom came to experience marine life through snorkeling or diving. Sea turtles (Chelonia mydas and Eretmochelys imbricata) are some of the megafauna attracting visitors, due to the high possibility and frequency of in-water encounters, as well as encounters on land during nesting or hatching events. The aims of this study were to assess the extent of the potential socioeconomic value of sea turtle tourism in the Maldives by interviewing and surveying dive and snorkel operators offering sea turtle trips, and the amount in US dollars spent directly on advertised sea turtle trips in 2019. Sea turtle tourism in 2019 was estimated to have generated a minimum of USD 1.08 million in direct revenue. Our results suggest that sea turtle tourism is not seasonal and occurs throughout the year, with some notable hotspots such as Lhaviyani and Laamu atoll. Sea turtles were perceived to be important to the operators' business with the majority of operators advertising sea turtle viewing excursions to attract guests. According to operators, guests ranked sea turtles in their top 4 marine species to view, alongside manta rays, whale sharks, and sharks. These results suggest sea turtles have a high socioeconomic value for the country and highlight the potential to develop this industry and leverage its value to improve conservation for this species. Future surveys may also help to identify less well-known turtle aggregation sites and map tourism pressure on certain areas that may require stricter protection measures.

Snail-eating turtles (Malayemys spp.) are freshwater turtles native to mainland Southeast Asia. Three snail-eating turtle species (Malayemys khoratensis, Malayemys macrocephala, and Malayemys subtrijuga) were previously reported in Thailand. Before the present study, information on the distribution of snail-eating turtles in northeastern and eastern Thailand was limited, and a question arose regarding the distribution range of the new species, Malayemys khoratensis. From 2018 to 2020, we surveyed and collected data on the morphological traits of 109 snail-eating turtles along with 60 blood samples from 23 out of 27 provinces across northeastern and eastern Thailand. We found that both M. khoratensis and M. subtrijuga occur in northeastern Thailand. The distribution of M. khoratensis is in the Chi River Basin and upper Mun River Basin to the Mekong River. while the distribution of M. subtrijuga is from the lower Mun River to the Mekong River. Malayemys macrocephala occur in eastern Thailand and were found in 2 large provinces (Nakhon Ratchasima and Udon Thani) in northeastern Thailand. Based on morphological characteristics known to distinguish these species, 28 of the sampled individuals from areas in lower Mun River basin could not be assigned to any of the 3 species. Therefore, we reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships of 26 of these samples as well as other samples from known species based on 2 mitochondrial genes (Cyt b and ND4). Results based on mtDNA data indicated that the turtles in the unknown group belonged to 1 of the 3 clades corresponding to M. khoratensis, M. macrocephala, and M. subtrijuga. This result confirms that the unknown group does not represent a novel species within the genus Malayemys. However, it also indicates a discordance between the genetic and morphological characteristics of the turtles, highlighting the complexity of species identification within the genus Malayemys.

The microhabitat preferences of chicken turtles (Deirochelys reticularia) have remained an area of speculation. To investigate this, we studied a population of chicken turtles located at Nags Head Woods Ecological Preserve (NHWEP) on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This unique barrier island ecosystem contains > 20 independent, interdunal, and mostly permanent ponds in a relatively small area (< 500 ha), which provided a unique opportunity to determine the microhabitat preferences of chicken turtles. The ponds throughout NHWEP exhibit vast variation in abiotic factors that could influence chicken turtle presence. We used a backward selection Poisson regression modeling framework to investigate the composition of each pond in relation to environmental variables and D. reticularia presence. Our models included multiple factors that could potentially affect chicken turtle microhabitat preferences such as pond depth, mud depth, water clarity, canopy cover, water chemistry, and salinity. After examining these factors within our models, we discovered that pond depth, canopy cover, and salinity were the most important factors contributing to the presence of chicken turtles. Specifically, our analysis showed that chicken turtles prefer shallow ponds with minimal canopy cover and that exhibit little to no salinity. Thus, our findings provide an important baseline understanding of chicken turtle microhabitat use that could be critical to management within changing ecosystems.

Montezuma Well is an unusual fishless, spring-fed, desert wetland in central Arizona. Water in the wetland is naturally enriched with > 100 µg/l dissolved geogenic arsenic (As) and supports a simple aquatic food web dominated by a small number of endemic invertebrate species that achieve high abundances. Previous studies of As among various environmental compartments and organisms in Montezuma Well did not include omnivorous Sonora Mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) despite their potential importance in the As cycle by virtue of their substantial biomass and role as top predators. We measured As concentrations in water, sediment, and organisms (macrophytes, amphipods, insects, leeches, and turtles) representing a range of trophic levels in order to document the importance of turtles at the apex of the Montezuma Well food web and in the As cycle. Concentrations of As in turtles varied according to tissue type. The greatest values (up to 26.77 mg/kg dry weight) were in the scutes of 1 of our oldest turtles (31.5 yrs). These elevated concentrations may be due to the affinity of As to react with sulfur in the keratin of scutes, and therefore might reflect duration of exposure in long-lived turtles. Although As concentrations generally tend to decrease when moving up to higher trophic levels in a food web, our results were different. Relatively elevated concentrations reported in sediments by us and a previous study declined in plant samples as expected. Amphipod concentrations increased but then decreased again in 3 of their invertebrate predators. Arsenic concentrations in endemic leeches were extremely elevated with a mean value of 72.2 mg/kg. The mean concentration of As in turtles was 7.08 mg/kg across tissue types and was greater than the plants or invertebrates they eat, with the notable exception of leeches, which have been proposed to be part of their diet.

Three nuchal bones from peat deposits in the lower Wacissa River represent Late Pleistocene–Holocene records of the spotted turtle, Clemmys guttata. These are the first fossils of this rare species from Florida and the first verifiable records, fossil or living, from the Aucilla River Drainage Basin. The new records and the absence of older fossils indicate that C. guttata arrived in Florida late in geologic time and that the scattered isolated populations of C. guttata in the state today are naturally occurring and not the result of human introductions as has been suggested. The provenience of the Wacissa River fossils and the oldest fossils of Clemmys support the Gulf-Atlantic Coastal Plain of the southeastern United States as a plausible region of origin for the genus and the species C. guttata.

Sea turtle morphometrics yield critical insights into demography, life history, and conservation status; however, methods in obtaining manual parameters are often invasive and not generally standardized because of measurement variation across measurement modality. To the best of our knowledge, no comprehensive guidance on all established morphometrics exists, nor does any existing literature prescribe methods for remote measurements (such as using a stereo-video camera), which may vary slightly in their approach compared to physical measurements. Here we provide a morphometric guide that recommends manual and remote techniques to measure and standardize morphometric parameters of Chelonid sea turtles, with a primary focus on green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), and Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles.

The genus Testudo is represented by 4 species in the Mediterranean ecoregion, each occupying distinct climatic niches with some peripheral overlap in their ranges. In this study, we used remote sensing vegetation indices (Enhanced Vegetation Index; EVI) to evaluate habitat partitioning patterns among tortoise species and subspecies/mitochondrial clades across the cir-cum-Mediterranean region. Our analyses revealed low habitat niche segregation among 3 mesic species (Testudo graeca, Testudo hermanni, and Testudo marginata). Testudo graeca has the widest niche breadth, overlapping broadly with all other species, including the xeric specialist, Testudo kleinmanni. Among the 3 mesic species, T. marginata has the narrowest niche breadth, with its distribution largely falling within the niche of the sympatric T. hermanni. Shared thermal requirements and the avoidance of dense forests are key factors driving the extensive niche overlap observed in mesic species. Within species, parapatric clades generally occupy similar habitat niches, although some subspecies can show pronounced differences in habitat properties. Remote sensing data prove valuable for assessing habitat use patterns among congeneric reptile species across large geographic areas.

We report on field observations of males biting females as part of mating attempts in the northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica), a species in which females are much larger than males. The function of biting is not clear, but we surmise, based on our previous work on the same population, that biting may be part of a coercive mating strategy. Based on previous comparative analyses of turtle mating behaviors, this potentially coercive mating strategy is unexpected given the direction of sexual size dimorphism in map turtles.