A wetland-based habitat suitability model for spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in West Virginia, USA, using field surveys and regional data

Abstract

The Spotted Turtle (Clemmys guttata) is a small freshwater turtle that is currently under review for federal listing under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Recent distributional models suggest that Spotted Turtles potentially occur in the eastern panhandle, northcentral, and northern panhandle regions of West Virginia, with previous survey efforts documenting the species at three wetlands in the eastern panhandle. We sampled 62 sites across 41 unique wetlands in West Virginia to assess the contemporary region-scale distribution and identify occupied wetlands. We used the results of these surveys to help inform the development of a Habitat Suitability Model (HSM) to guide future survey efforts. We encountered Spotted Turtles at seven wetlands in the eastern panhandle region but did not encounter the species in the northcentral or northern panhandle regions. The HSM projected habitat suitability across 17,724 wetlands and classified 387 (2%) of those wetlands as high suitability within the potential distribution of Spotted Turtles in West Virginia. The results of our study indicate that Spotted Turtle populations are likely restricted to the eastern panhandle region and that a low proportion of wetlands within their potential distribution in West Virginia represent suitable habitat.

Citation

Mota, Joel L.; Brown, Donald J.; Oxenrider, Kevin J.; Strager, Michael P. 2025. A wetland-based habitat suitability model for spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in West Virginia, USA, using field surveys and regional data. Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 20(2):364–378.