1. A Study of Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) in Lake Marburg at Codorus State Park Olivia Yaple, Department of Biology, York College Introduction Methods Results Conclusions Future Studies Acknowledgements Literature Cited Table 2. The number of painted males and females captured and then recaptured at the same or different location from 2009-2012. Place baited traps in new locations throughout the lake for a better population estimate Determine why there is an uneven sex ratio of male to female turtles Try to track turtles throughout an entire active season to determine if painted turtles have a home range Bowen, K., Janzen, F. 2008. Human recreation and nesting ecology of a freshwater turtle (Chrysemys picta). Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 7:95-100. Ernst C. and Lovich, J. 2009. Turtles of the united states and canada 2nd Edition. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland Rowe, J. 2003. Activity and movements of midland painted turtles (Chrysemys picta marginata) living in a small marsh system on beaver island, michigan. Journal of Herpetology. 37:342-353. Schnabel, Z. 1938. The estimation of the total fish population of a lake. American Mathemetician Monthly. 45:348-352. I would like to thank Dr. Jessica Nolan for her continued support throughout this study and to the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for allowing research within the park Figure 1. Movements of the four turtles equipped with transmitters through the course of the study. Objectives Objective 1: Determine the painted turtle movements throughout Lake Marburg H: Painted turtles, given their size will have a small home range, specific to a cove Objective 2: Determine the painted turtle population size in Lake Marburg Majority of painted turtles were captured in their original location with only 3 males and 2 females captured in different locations over 4 years Turtles were captured into October, showing that even though the tags fell off mid-summer, turtles may have continued to move throughout the season Population Estimate 95% Confidence Interval Painted Red-Eared Sliders Red-Bellied Turtles 175 146 34 148-214 61-426 10-189 The painted turtle population estimate is similar to previous estimates for other turtle species within the lake Table 1. Comparison of turtle population size found within Lake Marburg including red-eared sliders and red-bellied turtles provided by Dr. Nolan. Two females and one male stayed within the area of a cove, shown by the brown, red, and blue polygons; however one male, shown by the purple stars, moved to other coves within the lake 3 of the 4 tagged turtles in this study showed little movement, as hypothesized; however the 1 tagged male from this study plus 3 males and 2 females that were marked have been recaptured in different locations Number Captured Number Recaptured Recaptured at Different Location Male Female 95 43 40 10 3 23 2  Males tend to move because they are looking for a mate (Ernst et. al, 2009)  Females tend to move to find a suitable nesting site making more land-based movements (Ernst et. al, 2009) Home range was not calculated as the transmitters only stayed on for half of the painted turtles’ active season Since only a small portion of the lake was sampled and painted turtles tended to stay in a single cove, the population estimate of painted turtles may not accurately represent the total number of painted turtles that may be found throughout Lake Marburg http://www.fish.state.pa.us/images/be/splashes /2005/arch_spring.htm http://www.flickr.com/photos/43728388@ N04/4024939710/