In spring 2024, in Livermore, CA, Swaim Biological Incorporated, attached Druid GPS data loggers on ten adult northwestern pond turtles (Actinemys marmorata) in proximity to the suburban interface. The light-weight loggers recorded fine scale movements as well as temperature, light intensity, and speed, and small solar panels allowed for battery charging while the transmitters were exposed. The long battery life allowed year-round monitoring of the turtles via phone application and reduced tracking time and labor. This monitoring effort contributes to our understanding of the ecology of western pond turtles for such behaviors including nesting, overwintering, and general movement ecology in both suburban and open space settings. Such data are highly valuable given potential future listing as well as guidance for current land management to identify areas of important habitat features.

William McCall has over fourteen years of experience in the public, private, and academic sectors in the fields of wildlife biology and conservation biology, with an emphasis in herpetology and specifically turtles. He earned a master’s degree in biological sciences from California State University, Chico in 2014 studying the relationship of bilateral asymmetry in northwestern pond turtle populations. He’s a senior wildlife biologist at Swaim Biological Inc. and has been with SBI since 2014.