Additionally, there has been a steady decline in salt marsh habitats in New York State, furthering the decline of local terrapin populations. Diamondback terrapins are currently listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Diamondback terrapins are also considered a species of ‘special concern’ in New York State. This is due to them being considered a ‘sentinel species,’ wherein their health, behavior, or population changes given an indication of the surrounding ecosystem’s health.
Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are important species that utilize the intertidal and subtidal habitats within the Peconic Estuary. Similarly to horseshoe crabs, diamondback terrapins are particularly vulnerable to the loss of important, coastal habitats, which are essential for the deposition of their eggs after reproducing. Shoreline hardening, sea level rise, and dredging all present ever-increasing challenges to diamondback terrapins.
Horseshoe Crabs and Diamondback Terrapins: Satellite Telemetry Tags
This mini grant was awarded to CCE, who proposed a pilot-scale test of satellite telemetry technology to advance the monitoring of diamondback terrapins and horseshoe crabs within the Peconic Estuary. In just the last few years satellite tags have greatly improved with respect to their size, battery life, spatial accuracy, and the inclusion of additional environmental sensors (e.g. temperature, depth, etc.) that are recorded simultaneously while tracking animals. Hence, these modern tags may now be suitable to apply to aquatic species such as horseshoe crab and diamondback terrapins.
CCE staff collected five adult female horseshoe crabs and four adult female diamondback terrapins by hand from spawning/nesting sites within the Peconic Estuary between the months of May and August. Each animal’s carapace were tagged with satellite tags, sending out a GPS pin every time the tag comes into contact with the air. The data can be used to help map habitat use as well as provide a greater understanding of behavioral metrics. With this information, PEP and partnering organizations will be better equipped to recognize monitoring gaps as well as strengthen the development of a detailed estuary-wide habitat restoration and protection strategy. Such a strategy will help PEP map out areas for restoration and protection based on their importance to key estuarine species or risk of future inundation as a result of sea level rise and increased shoreline hardening.
