What primary threat causes devastating loss of mature, reproductive wood turtles?
Answer
Road mortality, especially when females cross roads to nest
A significant driver of population decline for the wood turtle is direct mortality caused by human infrastructure, specifically road mortality. This threat is most acute during the nesting season when females must leave the relative safety of the stream corridors and travel overland to find suitable dry nesting substrates. During these migrations, females frequently attempt to cross roadways and are struck by vehicles. Because the species has a slow reproductive cycle, the loss of these mature, reproductive females inflicts severe and long-lasting damage on the population's ability to sustain itself.
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