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Have you heard of Mauremys reevesii? It is not an insect. It’s a native freshwater turtle in Taiwan and has been listed as a rare, protected species. The Mauremys reevesii is yellow and brown in color and has a golden, worm-shaped ring below the eyes and three distinct ridges on its back. Currently, they can only be found in Kinmen in Taiwan.
Professor Lin Si-Ming of the School of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, pointed out that the main habitats of Mauremys reevesii are ponds or swamps with soft mud bottoms. They are naturally timid and love secluded waters with abundant aquatic plants. In the winter, Mauremys reevesii move to grasslands or burrow in the soil of forests. Therefore, both bodies of water and natural wildlands are important habitats for Mauremys reevesii. Originally, this turtle could be found in China, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. Among these places, the largest number were in China but most were artificially bred. There were far fewer in the wild and they faced extensive hunting. On the Taiwanese mainland, although there are records of researchers finding Mauremys reevesii in Taipei and Nantou, there are no related records in recent surveys. Currently, in Taiwan wild Mauremys reevesii can only be found in Kinmen, making the animal even more precious.
How did Kinmen maintain the wild Mauremys reevesii population? Lin Si-Ming stated that, just like the DMZ on the 38th parallel north between North and South Korea, Kinmen has been under military control for a long period of time with few humans entering the area, which has led to the island becoming a paradise for animals. With the military restrictions, the wild animals are free to thrive with minimal interference and without the threat of being hunted, allowing Kinmen to become a sanctuary for many animals. Furthermore, there is a lack of water resources in Kinmen. Local residents have dug ponds for water storage, which is also significant in terms of Feng Shui. These ponds, Feng Shui pools, and artificial lakes have become the best habitats for the Mauremys reevesii.
However, the Mauremys reevesii in Kinmen still face two major challenges for their survival, which include the fragmentation or disappearance of habitats and genetic mixing from mating with foreign turtle species. The land developments and road construction in Kinmen in recent years have reduced the number of ponds and wetlands, causing the disappearance of habitats for Mauremys reevesii. According to a study conducted by Professor Lin Si-Ming in 2011, the greater the distance from roads to the ponds, the larger the number of Mauremys reevesii will reside in the ponds. Additionally, in the past, these turtles could be found in the northwestern waters of Kinmen island, but according to a survey by Assistant Professor Yang Yi-Ru of National Dong Hwa University in 2020, Mauremys reevesii were not found in the northwest of Kinmen island. The reason for this change still requires more research.
As for the mating problem for Mauremys reevesii, according to the research conducted by Professor Lin Si-Ming, turtles were found in 21 ponds out of the 41 ponds surveyed in Kinmen. In 12 of the ponds, interspecies offspring were found, which means that there is 1 mixed species turtle in 57% of the population. Because Chinese stripe-necked turtle were not recorded in Kinmen in the surveys conducted between the 1990s and the 2000s, speculation is that this phenomenon was caused by pet Chinese stripe-necked turtles released by the public. Assistant Professor Yang Yi-Ru found offspring of Mauremys reevesii with yellow pond turtle in the 2020 research.
Most of these mixed species offspring of the Mauremys reevesii and yellow pond turtles can reproduce. After a few generations, the genetic material of Chinese stripe-necked turtles will gradually become part of the Mauremys reevesii population. Although the mixed species offspring may not pose a significant danger to the environment, the continued mixing of the two species will damage the species itself. Regarding the mating problem for Mauremys reevesii, Lin Si-Ming suggests that the foreign species of Chinese stripe-necked turtles and yellow pond turtles should be removed to reduce the cross species mating and decrease competition for survival. In 2019 and 2020, the Kinmen County Government commissioned the Kinmen County Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Association to remove the foreign species of turtle from Kinmen island. The results of this project require further observation. Protecting the Mauremys reevesii and reducing the damage to their habitats are also critical. Lin Si-Ming emphasized that the success of the conservation policy is dependent on the local population's awareness of the importance of conservation. If the public supports filling the ponds for development projects or road expansion projects near Mauremys reevesii habitats, the population may be in trouble. In this episode, we will follow Professor Lin Si-Ming of the School of Life Science, NTNU, to understand the crisis facing Mauremys reevesii and to think about how we can conduct conservation.
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