Wood Turtle Use of Agricultural Hayfields and Their Behavior During Hay Harvest: Implications for Wood Turtle Management in Agricultural Landscapes

Shaylyn D. Wallace^1,*, Graham, J. Forbes¹, and Joseph J. Nocera¹

¹Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, 3 Bailey Drive, Fredericton, NB E3B 5A3, Canada. *Corresponding author.

Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 31, Special Issue 12: G85–G96

First published early online: 19 July 2024

Abstract
We quantified mortality risk of agricultural practices on Glyptemys insculpta (Wood Turtle) via radio-tracking of 23 (6M:17F) turtles in an agri-forested landscape in 2017 and 2018. During the hay-harvesting season, ~35% of turtle locations were within hayfields, and 86% locations of radio-tracked turtles in fields were <30 m from hayfield edges. Movement trials on 14 individuals arbitrarily placed in hayfields established that Wood Turtles can orientate towards a stream and potential safety. However, during hay harvest, Wood Turtles are unlikely to escape to safety, as none of the turtles at our study site were able to avoid the tractor as it circled the field in 5–8 minute intervals. We recommend that managers consider temporarily retaining a minimum 30 m-wide buffer strip of uncut hay along the edge of the field closest to streams during the summer harvesting season.

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