Turtle power

A box turtle shell found on campus has unveiled a tapestry of University of Delaware connections dating back more than half a century. The turtle, between 60 and 70 years old when he died, walked the UD College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) campus before humans walked on the moon.

Kenneth Geisert discovered it in February. A double major in insect ecology and conservation and wildlife ecology and conservation, Geisert stumbled upon the shell during a Wildlife Techniques (ENWC 315) course.

The novel classroom has no walls. Instead, students like Geisert learn in UD's Ecology Woods-a 35-acre active research site. Officially preserved in 1965, the "woodlot" is a remnant of a larger woodland, with its western and northern sections over 150 years old.

While learning about habitat fragmentation-which occurs when development or deforestation splits forests into isolated patches, thus hindering the movement and survival of animals-Geisert happened to find the shell of a Terrapene carolina ssp. carolina, otherwise known as an eastern box turtle, a subspecies of the common box turtle.

But common is a misnomer. Fragmentation has had a profound effect on box turtles. The genus only occurs in North America and is already extinct in Canada. The six remaining subspecies found in the United States and Mexico are considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation Red List.

Geisert knew the species was vulnerable and thought it best to leave the shell where he found it. He snapped a photo and uploaded it to iNaturalist, a popular app for recording nature observations. He had no idea that the turtle linked together a long and proud Blue Hen history.

Shortly after sharing his photo, Geisert received a comment on his post. The comment sought more information and noted that the shell was from a marked turtle.

Scientists mark turtles by filing a series of tiny V-shaped notches along the edges of their shells. Each turtle is notched in a unique pattern, allowing researchers to identify individual turtles and collect data on ecological, behavioral and population changes throughout their lives.

However, only one notch was visible in Geisert's photo. The iNaturalist commentator hoped to identify the turtle, so Geisert returned to Ecology Woods for additional photos. With the extra images, the commenter confirmed the shell's owner: a box turtle known as L2. First marked and studied at UD in 1965 as a juvenile (less than ten years old), L2 was last seen alive in 2002. Due to the state of the shell, the commentator noted, L2 most likely died over the summer of 2023.