Graduate student Elyse Ellsworth is spending the Spring 2019 semester studying the ecology of the critically endangered Central American River Turtle, or Hicatee (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize. The Hicatee are unique among turtles, as they are the only surviving member of the family Dermatemydidae. They are found in rivers, ponds, and wetlands throughout portions of southern Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala; however, there numbers have been drastically reduced due to decades of poaching for food. Little is known about their preferred microhabitat preferences or how they move within/between the aquatic ecosystems and how both of these might vary by age class, so Elyse will be tracking individuals with VHF transmitters. She will also be sampling for disease and microbiome communities, to determine the species health both in wild and captive populations. Elyse has received generous funding and assistance from the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA), and the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education (BFREE).

Update #1 (1/23/19):

In Elyse’s first two weeks in Belize, she has been trained on turtle capture and handling at BFREE, has begun to scout field sites throughout the country, and has placed transmitters on a total of six individuals! View her releasing a turtle containing a VHF transmitter.