Literaturdatenbank
Literaturdatenbank |
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Teillac-Deschamps, P., Delmas, V., Lorrillière, R., Servais, V., Cadi, A., & Prévot-Julliard, A.-C. (2008). Red-eared slider turtles trachemys scripta elegans introduced to french urban wetlands: an integrated research and conservation program. In J. C. Mitchell, J. R. E. Brown & B. Bartholomew (Eds.), Salt Lake City: SSAR.
Added by: Admin (18 Jul 2009 11:46:25 UTC) |
| Resource type: Book Article BibTeX citation key: TeillacDeschamps2008 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: General Keywords: Emydidae, Habitat = habitat, invasive Arten = invasive species, Schildkröten = turtles + tortoises, Südwesteuropa = South-Western Europe, Trachemys, Trachemys scripta Creators: Bartholomew, Brown, Cadi, Delmas, Lorrillière, Mitchell, Prévot-Julliard, Servais, Teillac-Deschamps Publisher: SSAR (Salt Lake City) |
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In a world with a growing urban population, owning an exotic pet may be representative of connection to nature by the urban public. Exotic pets are all the more attractive because they are rare, they differ from the more “usual pets” (such as cats and dogs), and they come from distant countries. For these reasons, an intensive pet trade has developed involving turtle farms in the United States (Lutz 2000; Telecky 2001) selling young Red-eared Slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) to developed countries. In France, Slider Turtles became very popular because of their small size, their simple husbandry requirements and their reasonably low price. Fifty two million individuals were produced in the United-States for foreign markets between 1989 and 1997 (Teleky 2001) and about 4 million juveniles were sold in France between 1985 and 1994 (Warwick 1991). Unsuspecting turtle owners are rarely prepared to maintain large adults (up to 30 cm carapace length) for a significant length of time (up to 50 years) in captivity. Larger adult turtles have often been released by their owners to ponds in many places. Because of these introductions, Red-eared Sliders now occur in freshwater ecosystems in many developed countries (e.g., de Roa and Roig 1997; Luiselli et al. 1997; Arvy and Servan 1998; Chen and Lue 1998; Martinez-Silvestre 2003), with high densities in urban wetlands. The impact of Red-eared Slider turtles (Trachemys scripta elegans) on local ecosystems and communities remains unknown. However, there is some information available concerning its reproductive success: egg deposition has been observed in Spain, Southern Europe (e.g., Capalleras and Carretero 2000) and in France (A. Cadi and V. Delmas, personal observation), and the production of young of both sexes was observed in the south of France (Cadi et al. 2004). In this context, the Slider Turtle provides a good example of the release of an exotic pet: Although this species is well known and popular with the general public, few studies have investigated its impact on local ecosystems and native species, or its invasive status. This situation is similar with regards to other pet species released into the wild and sometime demonised, such as Rose-ringed Parakeet (Psittacula krameri) or Siberian Chipmunk (Tamias sibiricus). Our research laboratory, in collaboration with managers and local communities, and a research unit in Anthropology of Nature, began in a project in 2002 that focused on research and education to study and manage Trachemys scripta elegans populations in the Paris region. This project has three goals: (i) knowledge acquisition on invasive status of the Slider Turtles and on social representations on this species (research aspects), (ii) public education, and (iii) to provide suggestions for management strategies.
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