Survivorship of adult females in a northern population of common snapping turtles, Chelydra serpentina

Survivorship of adult female snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) in a marked population in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, was estimated using recapture records and catch-curve analysis of age structure. Known mortality was less than 1% per year, and a 13-year average of survivorship was 96.6% per year. Even the conservatively biased catch-curve estimate (92.9% per year) was among the highest yet reported for any turtle population. We …