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Spiny softshell turtle, Blanding's turtle, Northern map turtle and Common snapping turtle
2025-11-24
Dr. Brooks and his team at the University of Guelph studied nesting selection sites, nesting behaviour, rate of predation and hatching success rate of four at-risk turtle species at Rondeau Provincial Park in Ontario: the spiny softshell turtle, blanding's turtle, northern map turtle and common snapping turtle.
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Giant salamander
2025-11-24
As forest harvesting increases in the managed forests of British Columbia, the coastal giant salamander’s numbers are reducing, and inbreeding is on the rise. The Department of Forest Sciences at the University of British Columbia compared levels of inbreeding, dispersal patterns and the mating system of the coastal giant salamander through genetic analysis. The results will help researchers decipher what recovery methods would be best for this species.
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Hog nosed snake
2025-11-24
In the last 20 years, the eastern hog-nosed snake's numbers have dropped to 7,500 in Ontario. Researchers in the Department of Biology at the University of Ottawa studied the snake's habitat-selection patterns to identify what makes up critical habitat for the species, including nesting and hibernation sites. The research also established what constitutes to the destruction of habitat throughout the snake's Ontario range.
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Leatherback Sea Turtle
2025-11-24
The leatherback sea turtle is at risk in Canada because of marine pollution and entanglement. Leatherbacks are one of the largest reptiles in the world, achieving their enormous size on a diet of jellyfish. Leatherbacks migrate thousands of kilometers each year from their nesting grounds in tropical waters to feeding areas of the north in search of this prey. With the help of a network of volunteers, Canadian Sea Turtle Network scientists identified Atlantic Canadian waters as critical habitat for leatherback turtles. This project proposes to monitor leatherback turtle population in waters off Atlantic Canada while also collecting behavioural data from leatherbacks foraging in near-shore areas off Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Leatherback Turtle
2025-11-24
The Canadian Sea Turtle Network had designed a database to house essential existing records of Leatherback Turtle data. The project added to this knowledge through surveys, working with the fishing community and other researchers to tally additional records of Leatherbacks. Using the information and database, researchers determined the risk the various types of commercial fishing gear in Nova Scotia water pose to leatherback turtles.
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Leatherback Turtle - Dalhousie
2025-11-24
Researchers at Dalhousie University gathered spatial data to characterize the critical habitat for leatherback turtles. Using precise GPS transmitters, the timing of turtle movement, depth to which they dive, exact location and water temperature were collected to analyze habitat use with respect to food sources and time of year. This information is essential to determine critical habitat for a species such as this that moves in relation to its prey. The results also allow researchers to determine where these turtles will be located in relation to human activity in order to minimize harmful interactions.
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Northern Leopard Frog
2025-11-03
The Vancouver Aquarium sought to ensure that the only remaining population of Northern leopard frogs in BC was not lost from the Canadian landscape. While there are other populations of Northern Leopard frogs in Canada this is the sole population in BC and entirely distinct from those others. In order to do so, researchers bred the species in captivity with the intention of reintroducing the frogs into the wild. CWF provided funding for a second greenhouse to provide enough space to raise tadpoles and offer sufficient space to induce spawning.
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Northern Leopard Frog
2025-11-24
The northern leopard frog can be found from southeastern British Columbia to Labrador, and from the southcentral Northwest Territories down through the central and southwestern United States, near Mexico. While it is generally common, its Western Boreal and Prairie populations are at risk. To find out more about these populations and why they are at risk, 90,000 km2 of southern Alberta was surveyed annually in 2009 and 2010 using different techniques. With this data, scientists can identify critical habitat requirements (or the exact area needed for the species’ recovery) and determine the extent and type of management needed to ensure the long-term survival of northern leopard frogs in Alberta. This is the largest investigation into northern leopard frogs in Canada.
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Northern Map Turtle
2025-11-24
Researchers at the Ecomuseum in St-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, studied the threats to northern map turtles in Lac des Deux-Montagnes in order to decipher essential habitat for the turtle throughout its life cycle – from egg laying to hibernation.
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Reptiles
2025-11-24
The Reptiles in the Thames River Watershed Project will undertake specific recovery initiatives to o boost at-risk reptile populations. Through re-establishing natural habitat at key sites for the Endangered Spiny Softshell Turtle and Queensnake, the researchers will create and monitor nest sites, shelter areas and basking sites. Turtle nests, in particular will be protected via a specially designed nest cage to keep out predators and nest success will be closely monitored. These efforts will help in reproductive success and overall survival which will help increase the populations.
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Species-at risk
2025-11-24
Southern Ontario is home to some of the greatest biodiversity in Canada as well as the greatest human population and number of roads in Canada. An astounding 46 per cent of species at risk have felt the negative effects of roads. Over the next 20 years, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation will be extending expressways. The Toronto Zoo is helping to ensure these extensions will have a minimal impact on wildlife by using a geographic information system to predict which locations would have the highest number of interactions between motorists and at-risk wildlife (looking specifically at turtles and snakes) in southern Ontario.
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Spiny softshell turtle
2025-11-24
With only two subpopulations in Canada, the spiny softshell turtle’s habitat is crucial to its survival. However, this reptile has a long must-have list before it moves into its habitat, and human impacts can leave it homeless. The Granby Zoo worked to assess and monitor the health of the Pike River population. They captured females en route to Pike River in order to install transmitters and track the females as they scout out nesting spots. Afterwards the researchers located nesting areas, protected them from predators with wire netting, checked on flooding, predation and vegetation growth in the area, and finally checked the nesting sites to determine the ratio of hatched to undeveloped eggs.
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Spotted Turtle
2025-11-03
The spotted turtle is one of the at risk turtle species in Canada. It can be found in a few areas mostly in Ontario, including a wetland complex south of Ottawa which has a county road passing through it. But is this road a threat to the turtles? Previously, all spotted turtles captured were on the east side of the road, but it was important to determine if they also occur on the west side, and if they commonly cross this road. This was accomplished through a combination of surveys on the west side of the road and tagging 5 adults with radio transmitters from the east side of the road.
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Turtles
2025-11-24
Scientists at the Toronto Zoo are researching threats to at-risk turtle species. Using nearly a decade of habitat use by at risk turtles in southern Ontario, they will be creating landscape-level mapping of areas with suitable habitat. With this knowledge in hand, they’ll be able to identify key habitat areas for protection and restoration in the region. The results will inform management actions such as targeting areas to create nest sites, over wintering habitat and basking sites. These actions will ultimately lead to an increased habitat for at-risk turtles and associated increase in a populations. Researchers are also interested in monitoring turtle species and reducing road mortality of at-risk turtle species as well as educating the public on the importance of turtle conservation.
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Turtles
2025-11-24
Researchers at Carleton University’s Biology Department conducted research to determine mortality rates due to bycatch of at risk turtle species occurring from freshwater fisheries. The , map, and snapping turtles and the not at risk painted turtle are often unintentionally caught in commercial fishing gear so this research is looking into mechanisms that cen be effectively be put in place to minimize this source of mortality..
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Western Chorus Frog
2025-11-24
The western chorus frog has seen a distinct decline in its Great Lakes and St. Lawrence population, so much so that the Canadian Shield population was designated Threatened in 2008 by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. As the distribution of the western chorus frog is poorly known in eastern Ontario, Seburn Ecological Services conducted surveys to track down the amphibian in rural eastern Ottawa and the county of Prescott as well as Russell. Surveys were conducted by listening for calling frogs at roadside wetlands, and researchers hoped they would find new populations of western chorus frogs.