Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata)

Habitat: Spotted turtles use a variety of wetland types including slow streams, wet meadows, fens, ponds, vernal pools, marshes, forested or scrub-shrub swamps, and roadside ditches. They often bask cryptically along the water's edge in brush piles, overhanging vegetation, and sphagnum mats. During 1992 and 1993 Joyal (1996) radio-tagged 13 female spotted turtles in southern Maine. Most of these turtles followed a seasonal pattern of emergence from hibernation, travel overland to a vernal pool (apparently to take advantage of ephemeral food sources), nesting excursion and return to pool, overland travel to estivation site, and overland travel to hibernation site. Some turtles, however, were long-term residents of a semi-permanent pool. From June through September, spotted turtles spent a surprising amount of time (15-89+ days) in upland forests. During estivation, the turtles would burrow under the leaf litter, 12-80 m (39-262") from the nearest wetland. The turtles were not completely inactive, however, and would occasionally move to new locations. Spotted turtles also estivated in swamps dominated by red maple or highbush blueberry. As these wetlands filled with water in the fall, estivation merged into hibernation. Hibernation occurred under hummocks in these swamps, and among shrub roots in pools and slow-moving streams. At stream sites, spotted turtles hibernated communally. Spotted turtles in Massachusetts exhibit similar seasonal patterns (Graham 1995). Habitat requirements for immature spotted turtles are not known, and few juveniles have been observed in Maine.

Radio-tagged females in Maine used 1-3 pools each year and traveled a minimum of 0.5-2.0 km (0.3-1.2 mi) each year. Much of this (0.0-1.7 km/individual) was overland travel. There is some evidence that males may travel even greater distances than females. In South Carolina, 2 radio-tagged males traveled 1.8 km (1.1 mi) and 2.8 km (1.7 mi) during March and April (Lovich 1990).

Spotted turtles nest in natural or human-made openings in the forest canopy. Nesting sites in Maine included shoulders of gravel roads, lawns, sand or dirt piles, dirt-filled cracks in bedrock, and sphagnum mats in fens and forested wetlands. In New Hampshire spotted turtles nest in sandy-loam soils in agricultural fields and disturbed areas (Carroll 1991). Nests can be located up to 120 m (394') from the nearest wetland (Joyal 1996).

Reproduction: Spotted turtles become sexually mature at approximately 7-10 years of age (Ernst and Zug 1994). During courtship 1 or more males frantically chase a female. Mating occurs from March to May and usually takes place in the water. During June, females leave the wetlands and travel up to 570 m (1,870') to an appropriate site where they dig their nests and lay 2-8 eggs. Nesting dates and clutch sizes in Maine ranged from 8-28 June and 3-7 eggs, respectively ( Joyal 1996). After 88-125 days, the hatchlings emerged from the nests. Hatchlings in Pennsylvania will overwinter in the nest and emerge the following spring (Ernst 1976). Although there are some indications that spotted turtle hatchlings may also overwinter in the nest in parts of New England (Klemens 1993; Joyal 1996), this does not seem to be a common strategy in Maine.

Diet: The spotted turtle is omnivorous. In the only study on the food habits of this species, Surface (1908 as cited in Cahn 1937) examined the stomach contents of 27 turtles. Identified prey included worms, slugs, snails, small crustaceans, crayfish, millipedes, spiders, and insects of the orders Ephemerida, Plecoptera, Odonata, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, and Hymenoptera. Three of the stomachs contained vegetation (leaves, seeds, and grass). Many of the insects identified were non-aquatic species, but it is unknown whether they fell on the water surface or were captured on land. Whether or not, and to what extent, spotted turtles feed on land is unknown, but they are apparently capable of swallowing food while on land (Conant 1938).

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