Hiding in plain sight: federally protected Ringed Map Turtles, Graptemys oculifera, found in a new river system

Abstract/Summary

Understanding the geographical range of a species is essential to successful conservation and management, but their ranges are not always fully known. Ringed Map Turtles, Graptemys oculifera, have been federally listed as a threatened species since 1986, and they have long been considered endemic to the Pearl River system of central Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. By way of a 2021 citizen scientist observation, a new G. oculifera population was discovered in the Bogue Falaya, a river system that is west of and isolated from the Pearl River system. Genetic analyses of 23 individuals from the Bogue Falaya demonstrate their distinctiveness relative to sites in the Pearl River, suggesting it is a natural rather than introduced population. Therefore, G. oculifera should no longer be considered endemic to the Pearl River system, and this Bogue Falaya population of G. oculifera may warrant the designation of a distinct population segment under the Endangered Species Act. A thorough assessment of the distribution, abundance, and conservation threats to the Bogue Falaya population of G. oculifera is needed as well as surveys of surrounding systems. This discovery of a long federally protected species in the city limits of Covington, Louisiana, underscores the need for more surveys to fully understand species distributions and documents how citizen scientists can advance scientific knowledge.