The effect of habitat alterations on reptiles is less understood.
Turtles are long-lived and are slow to reach maturity.
Additionally, turtles often have low fecundity, and have limited dispersal abilities compared with many mammals and birds. These characteristics may make turtles more susceptible to rapid changes in their environment. Aquatic turtles utilize terrestrial habitats while dispersing and female aquatic turtles utilize upland habitat for nesting. We are sampling painted turtle populations in Strafford and Rockingham Counties, New Hampshire to investigate the impacts of habitat fragmentation on turtles. Demographic characteristics of turtles will be investigated using mark-recapture techniques.