Ghosts of the Swamp: Challenges Associated with Surveying for Spotted Turtles (Clemmys guttata) in the Southeastern United States

For species of conservation concern, documenting extant populations is a critical first step to making informed conservation and management decisions at both local and regional scales. We implemented a standardized survey protocol, consisting of both trapping and visual-encounter surveys, in an effort to document Clemmys guttata (Spotted Turtle) populations at sites across Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina from 2018 to 2021. We surveyed a total of 56 sites, conducting 5703 trap nights and 891 visual-encounter surveys. Across all surveys, we observed Spotted Turtles at 16 sites, including 5 long-term–monitoring sites and 11 sites that were formally surveyed for the first time. Of the 11 new sites with detections, 7 were characterized by the observation of just a single individual. Using single-season occupancy models, we found that estimates of occupancy (min–max: 0.12–0.13) and detection (min–max: 0.19–0.20) probability were low at mean covariate values. Overall, we struggled to document Spotted Turtle populations across 3 southeastern states using standardized survey methodologies. Even successful documentation of new populations was often supported by few individuals, suggesting our survey efforts were missing core-activity areas, that populations exist at low densities, and/or that populations have declined at some sites.