Freshwater turtles are found all throughout the world where there is shallow fresh water such as wetlands, rivers, lakes, and swamps. Being cold-blooded reptiles, they cannot inhabit extremely cold areas such as arctic or tundra regions. However, in cold climates, they live under the ice during the winter months and can remain active albeit with a low metabolic rate and extract oxygen from the water using a process called cloacal respiration. 

Turtles are generally omnivores, but some species have diets that are predominately herbivorous or predominately carnivorous. In general, turtles eat aquatic plants, snails, slugs, insects, crayfish, and small fish. Turtles do not have teeth, so they rely on strong jaw sharp claws and front beak for eating.

 Turtle nesting season lasts from spring to fall. Freshwater turtle females move onto dry land and can travel large distances to sites with loose, sandy soils and sun exposure to lay their 5 to100 eggs. They create holes or depressions for the eggs, bury them and return to their aquatic habitat. Turtles do not provide parental care for eggs or for the hatchlings which usually emerge in late summer or early fall. Soil temperature during egg development will affect what gender the hatchlings are. Higher incubation temperature will result in more females, lower incubation temperatures will result in more males. The hatchlings are a target for predation by larger animals like birds and mammals.

II. Sensitivity to Oil Spills

Freshwater Turtles can suffer numerous physical health problems from encountering oil. If oil gets on their shell or body, it can cause lesions on their skin, eyes, and mouths and result in delamination of their shells. They may also become more susceptible to predators. They may also become trapped in thick oil and unable to breathe. 

Turtles can ingest oil through drinking or eating contaminated water or food. It can also be absorbed through its skin and enter the body. Many health-related effects are associated with oil ingestion such as respiratory problems, oil regurgitation, sloughing of intestinal lining, and irritation of skin, eyes, and other body parts. Oil can also change a turtle’s blood chemical composition resulting in anemia. Weight loss can result in positive buoyancy that makes it difficult to turtles to remain submerged. 

Oil exposure can also have adverse effects on reproduction and development of turtles. Female turtles have been shown to have a decrease in fertility, number of eggs produced, and size of eggs produced if exposed to oil. This is a result of toxins either directly destroying reproductive cells such as oocytes or disruption of reproductive hormones. Ingesting oil has a negative effect on embryo production due to an increase in toxins being sent to the embryos and less nutrients in the form of lipids being supplied to the eggs. This can result in death to embryos and if they survive, they have a higher chance of early mortality or suffering from deformities that impede normal functions.

III. Sensitivity to Response Methods

The following text describes potential adverse impacts to this species and its habitat resulting from various oil spill response methods and provides recommendations to reduce impact when these methods are implemented. This is not intended to preclude the use of any particular methods, but rather to aid responders in balancing the need to remove oil with the possible adverse effects of removal with respect to turtles. More detail about the response methods themselves can be found in the Inland Response Tactics Manual.