Influence of bait type on capture success of Clemmys guttata and Chrysemys picta using small hoop nets in shallow wetlands

Abstract

Many passive sampling devices exist for sampling aquatic and semiaquatic turtles, such as basking traps, fyke nets, hoop nets, trammel nets, and modified crab traps (Lagler 1943; Vogt 1980; Chandler et al. 2017). Hoop nets are one of the most commonly used sampling devices because they are lightweight, portable, require only one worker to assemble and deploy, and provide easily quantifiable results (Davis 1982; Dodd 2016). Hoop nets are typically baited, with canned sardines being the most common type of bait used to attract turtles (e.g., Ernst 1965; Voorhees et al. 1991; Brown et al. 2011). However, species are known to differ in bait preferences, which can affect capture efficiency when sampling (Thomas et al. 2008; Mali et al. 2012, 2014; Munscher et al. 2017). Recently, Richardson et al. (2017) found that wet cat food was as effective as sardines for attracting Chelydra serpentina (Snapping Turtle) and Chrysemys picta (Painted Turtle) to hoop nets at urban ponds in Missouri. Cat food is substantially less expensive than sardines, typically costing US $0.54/can and US $0.96/can of cat food and sardines, respectively, and thus would be a preferable bait when it is as (or more) effective as an attractant to traps.

Citation

​Oxenrider, Kevin J.; Heres, Berlynna M.; Brown, Donald J. 2019. Influence of bait type on capture success of Clemmys guttata and Chrysemys picta using small hoop nets in shallow wetlands. Herpetological Review. 50(3): 490-192.​​