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Identifying brumating Northern Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) by incorporating environmental sensor and drone technology

Michele M. Budd

Michele M. Budd

  • 195 Marine Academy of Technology & Environmental ScienceUSA
  • Mordecai Land TrustUSA
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Budd, Michele M.
, 
John Wnek

John Wnek

195 Marine Academy of Technology & Environmental ScienceUSA
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Wnek, John
 e 
Jim Dugan

Jim Dugan

Mordecai Land TrustUSA
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Dugan, Jim
  
22 ago 2025
Identifying brumating Northern Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin terrapin) by incorporating environmental sensor and drone technology's Cover Image
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Categoria dell'articolo: Original article
Pubblicato online: 22 ago 2025
Pagine: 1 - 9
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/njas-2025-0001
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© 2025 Michele M. Budd et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Figure 1.

Map of general study areas within Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, USA: Sensor study area (black circle) and drone study area (gray circle). Specific site locations and names were redacted in order to protect the areas of terrapin activity.
Map of general study areas within Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, USA: Sensor study area (black circle) and drone study area (gray circle). Specific site locations and names were redacted in order to protect the areas of terrapin activity.

Figure 2.

Female terrapin fitted with STAR-ODDI (DST) environmental sensor (21 g dry/13 g in water).
Female terrapin fitted with STAR-ODDI (DST) environmental sensor (21 g dry/13 g in water).

Figure 3.

Temperature (°C; darker shade) and depth (m; lighter shade) profile of a mature female diamondback terrapin (“BHIO”) that was fitted with DST environmental sensor on 9 July 2019, and recovered on 20 June 2020. The brumation period from early November 2019 to early April 2020 shows no movement above the surface indicating brumation as indicated within the highlighted box.
Temperature (°C; darker shade) and depth (m; lighter shade) profile of a mature female diamondback terrapin (“BHIO”) that was fitted with DST environmental sensor on 9 July 2019, and recovered on 20 June 2020. The brumation period from early November 2019 to early April 2020 shows no movement above the surface indicating brumation as indicated within the highlighted box.

Figure 4.

Panned view of brumating terrapins (circled) leading from the sloped shoreline embankments (left) into shallow water on 7 April 2023. This image was taken by using drone technology at 1.5 – 4.6 m above the water and a water depth of < 1 m, and modified to a grayscale for better contrast and definition.
Panned view of brumating terrapins (circled) leading from the sloped shoreline embankments (left) into shallow water on 7 April 2023. This image was taken by using drone technology at 1.5 – 4.6 m above the water and a water depth of < 1 m, and modified to a grayscale for better contrast and definition.

Figure 5.

Brumating terrapins found on April 11, 2023 by drone technology at 1.5 – 4.6 m above the water and a water depth of < 1 m (circled). Inset diamondback terrapin image shows the shape and definition of the carapace. This image was modified to a grayscale for better contrast and definition, which reflects similar terrapin mud burrow images by Selman and Baccigalopi (2012).
Brumating terrapins found on April 11, 2023 by drone technology at 1.5 – 4.6 m above the water and a water depth of < 1 m (circled). Inset diamondback terrapin image shows the shape and definition of the carapace. This image was modified to a grayscale for better contrast and definition, which reflects similar terrapin mud burrow images by Selman and Baccigalopi (2012).

Environmental conditions during drone brumation surveys of the cove within Barnegat Bay - Little Egg Harbor Estuary_

Survey 1 Survey 2 Survey 3
5 April 2023 7 April 2023 11 April 2023
Method drone drone drone
Water Temperature 12.72°C 13.78°C 11.50°C
Water Depth < 1.0 m < 1.0 m < 1.0 m
Tidal Height 0.0067 m 0.007 m 0.063 m
Wind SE 12.9 km/h W 12.9 km/h W 24.1 km/h
Visibility 4.8 km 33.8 km 27.4 km

Comparison of environmental conditions for brumation and cold water terrapin studies performed by Yearicks et al_ (1981); Williard and Harden (2011); and Akins et al_ (2014)_ All units were converted for comparison purposes_

This Study Yearicks et al. (1981) Akins et al. (2014) Williard & Harden (2011)
Location Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary, New Jersey Atlantic Coast of Cape May County, New Jersey South Carolina (by Kiawah Island) Mansonboro Island, North Carolina
Survey Type Drone; Environmental sensor Probing Temperature data Loggers Radiotelemetry & visual observation; Temperature data loggers
Water Depth < 1 m Creek bottoms at low tide = 1.5 – 2.5 m 0.15 m Not reported
Mud Depth < 12 cm Creek bank sides = 15 – 50 cm; Bank undercuts = <1.0 cm 10 cm 5 – 10 cm (intertidal zone)
Water Temperature Early April: < 13.90°C Mid to late November: 6 – 10°C April: < 18°C Mean weekly carapace temperature (Tc) during dormancy = 12.4 +/−1.0°C; Majority of dormancy period at < 20°C
Gender Male/Female Male/Female Male/Female Female
Location of Brumating Terrapins Beyond the edges of sloped embankments; underwater burial on cove’s bay floor Underwater burial on bottom of bay floor; atop creek banks and undercuts Shallow intertidal mud Burial in mud of intertidal zone
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