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Articles by David Seburn
Two albino Blanding’s Turtle ( Emydoidea blandingii ) hatchlings from Ontario
Abstract Albinism in turtles is rare but has been reported in more than a dozen species. We observed two albino Blanding’s Turtle (Emydoidea blandingii) hatchlings from one nest collected and incubated as part of a turtle conservation program in eastern Ontario. The albino hatchlings were the same size (3.4 cm straight-line carapace length) as the other two hatchlings from the nest and only slightly smaller than the average length of Blanding’s Turtles (3.6 cm) produced from our nests in 2025.
"The Lives of Snakes: a Natural History of the World’s Snakes" by Chris Mattison, 2025 [book review]
License Copyright for Canadian Field-Naturalist content is held by the Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club, except for content published by employees of federal government departments, in which case the copyright is held by the Crown. In-copyright content available at the Biodiversity Heritage Library is available for re-use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.
Distribution and breeding potential of the exotic False Map Turtle (
Abstract False Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica) is widespread in the central United States, and its native range extends close to the Canadian border. It is common in the pet trade and has been released into the wild outside its native range. We examined observations of False Map Turtle from iNaturalist Canada, an online platform to document native and non-native species, and confirmed 20 observations in Canada from eight cities in three provinces.
Assessing terrestrial movements of Eastern Musk Turtle (
Abstract Eastern Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus) is known to be a highly aquatic species, yet it is occasionally found away from waterbodies. If such movements are common, then road mortality may pose a substantial risk to the species. We examined iNaturalist Canada observations of Eastern Musk Turtle on roads and found 15 in which individuals were >25 m from water. The median distance to the nearest permanent waterbody was 100 m (range 30–330 m).
Do turtle roadkill hotspots shift from year to year?
Abstract Freshwater turtles face many threats but roadkill is one of the most serious for many species. Roadkill of turtles is not uniformly distributed across roads but aggregated in certain areas, termed hotspots. A key question in identifying hotspots is whether they are fixed locations or if they shift from year to year because of changes in movement patterns. We compared how one, two, and three years of road survey data compared with the pooled data from four years of surveys.
Build It and They Will Nest
Many turtle nests fall victim to nest predators like raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes. To help ensure more nests hatch successfully, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and its partners have been collecting and incubating turtle eggs as well as installing nest protectors on nests. Another method to help increase hatching success is to create nesting areas that are safe from predators. That may sound impossible but that is what the CWF turtle team did this past summer.
Abstract Around the margin of an artificial pond in Ottawa, Ontario, we found 25 Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta) that appeared to have died over the course of two winters (17 during the first winter and eight during the second). We examined meteorological data to try to determine the cause of the mortality. Summer and fall rains were only slightly below normal in both years, suggesting water levels should have been close to normal.
How Do Freshwater Turtles Survive a Canadian Winter?
Many birds fly south to avoid the long, cold Canadian winter. Turtles don’t have that option. They also can’t remain active in winter because they are ectotherms (cold-blooded), hence their body temperature is determined by the environment. They would freeze to death as soon as air temperatures went below zero. Instead, turtles avoid sub-freezing temperatures by remaining on the bottom of wetlands, lakes and rivers.
Victory for Eastern Ontario’s Freshwater Turtles!
Over the past three years, the CWF turtle team has documented more than 1,400 dead turtles on roads in eastern Ontario. That is a staggering amount of roadkill, which is likely not sustainable. A majority of the dead turtles we found were Painted Turtles, but we also found many Snapping Turtles and Blanding’s Turtles. Given that all freshwater turtles in Canada are species at risk, roadkill is a serious threat to our turtles.
Do turtle warning signs reduce roadkill?
Home > Vol 133, No 3 (2019) > Seburn Open Access Subscription Access Do turtle warning signs reduce roadkill? David C. Seburn, Hannah McCurdy-Adams Abstract Roadkill is a serious threat for many species of freshwater turtles. One of the most common road mitigation tools is wildlife warning signs to alert drivers. These warning signs have commonly been used for large mammals, although there is little evidence that they are effective in reducing roadkill.
Seasons Spring 1996
DEPARTMENTS 8 | Earth Watch Conflict over mining in Temagami; farms seek hunt on sandhill cranes; Omnibus Bill allows sale of Conservation Authority land; Cedar Point proposal goes to OMB; Bill 20 soft on protecting environment; the Morris Tract may yet be saved. 31 | Birder’s Notebook Peregrine numbers soar. By Nancy Mahony 41 | Insider Board sets goals for next 5 years; 32,000 envelopes later; happy trails; bylaw change. 46 | Reflections Simply walking.
Roadkill of Eastern Newts ( Notophthalmus viridescens ) in a protected area in Quebec
Open Access Subscription Access Roadkill of Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) in a protected area in Quebec David C. Seburn, Elena Kreuzberg, Leah Viau Abstract Roadkill is a threat to populations of many amphibian species, including Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), which is widespread in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. Little is known about the level of road mortality experienced by dispersing Eastern Newts in Canada.
The publications of Francis Cook
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Introduction to the Special Issue on herpetology in Canada
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How to (Safely) Move a Turtle across the Road
You’re driving down a back-country road and suddenly there’s a turtle on the road. What do you do? Read on to learn how to move a turtle across the road. Most of the species of freshwater turtles that live in Canada live in lakes or wetlands — like marshes and swamps. If the turtles remained in those areas they would be relatively safe. Unfortunately, turtles frequently leave this relative safety to lay eggs or move between wetlands. Road mortality is an important threat to most freshwater turtles.
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