Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
JASBB Baner text

No. ONLINE FIRST

Articles

Assessment of the occurrence of the pond turtle Emys orbicularis in Poleski National Park based on drone monitoring

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/jasbb.2025.5227
Submitted: April 11, 2025
Published: 02.10.2025

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the habitat preferences of the pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) in Polesie National Park and assess drone use's effectiveness in different seasons. Monitoring was carried out with three DJI drone models (Mavic Air 2, Air 2S and Air 3), which performed raids on 27 selected sites with a total area of 246.72 ha, using optical cameras and orthophoto software. Turtle activity was highest in spring, especially during mating, when individuals are more likely to come to the surface for thermoregulation and reproduction. As temperatures rose and the drought progressed, the number of sightings decreased, which was associated with the drying of water bodies and a change in turtle behaviour. Most turtles were observed in sedge meadows and drainage ditches, which acted as migration corridors and places of refuge during the drought. The survey confirmed the high usefulness of drones in monitoring the species, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

References

  1. Bodie J.R., Semlitsch R.D., 2000. Spatial and temporal use of floodplain habitats by lentic and lotic species of aquatic turtles. Oecologia (Berlin) 122, 138–146.
  2. Cadi A., Nemoz M., Thienpont S., Joly P., 2004. Home range, movements, and habitat use of the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the Rhône-Alpes region, France. Biologia 59, 89–94.
  3. Cash W.B., Holberton R.L., 2005. Endocrine and behavioral response to a decline in habitat quality: effects of pond drying on the Slider Turtle, Trachemys scripta. J. Exp. Zool. A Comp. Exp. Biol., 303A, 872–879.
  4. Chamoso P., Raveane W., Parra V., González A., 2014. UAVs applied to the counting and monitoring of animals. In: C. Ramos, P. Novais, C. Ehrwein Nihan, J.M. Corchado Rodríguez (eds.), Ambient intelligence-software and applications: 5th International Symposium on Ambient Intelligence. Springer, Cham–Heidelberg–New York–Dordrecht–London, 71–80.
  5. Czyżowski P., Wójcik M., Beeger S., 2024. Ocena wpływu bobra europejskiego Castor fiber na środowisko przyrodnicze Poleskiego Parku Narodowego w obszarze oddziaływania Lubelskiego Zagłębia Węglowego. Pol. J. Sust. Dev. 28(2), 13–21. https://doi.org/10.15584/pjsd.2024.28.2.2
  6. Drechsler R.M., Fernandez L.M., Lassalle M., Monros J.S., 2018. Movement patterns and home range sizes of translocated European pond turtles (Emys orbicularis, Linnaeus, 1758) in eastern Spain. Herpetol. Conserv. Biol. 13(1), 1–9.
  7. Dziedzic R. 2002. Fauna of Polesie National Park – Vertebrates/Fauna Poleskiego Parku Narodowego – Kręgowce. In: Polesie National Park. Morpol, Lublin, 1–124.
  8. Erdélyi G., Szabó B., Kiss I., 2019. Basking activity pattern of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Babat valley (Gödöllő, Hungary). Herpetozoa 32, 221.
  9. Escoriza D., Franch, M., Ramos S., Sunyer-Sala P., Boix, D. 2020. Demographics and survivorship in the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis): A 31–Year Study. Herpetol. Conserv. Biol. 15(1), 41–48.
  10. Ficetola G.F., Padoa-Schioppa E., Massa R., De Bernadi F., Bottoni L., 2004. The importance of aquatic and terrestrial habitat for the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis): implications for conservation planning and management. Can. J. Zool. 82, 1704–1712. https://doi.org/10.1139/z04-170
  11. Głowaciński Z. 2001. Polish red data book of animals Vertebrates/Polska czerwona księga zwierząt. Kręgowce, PWRiL: Warszawa, Poland, 1-452.
  12. Głowaciński Z. 2002. Red list of endangered and threatened animals in Poland/Czerwona lista zwierząt ginących i zagrożonych w Polsce, IOP PAN: Kraków, Poland. 1-74.
  13. Kellenberger B., Marcos D., Tuia D., 2018. Detecting mammals in UAV images: Best practices to address a substantially imbalanced dataset with deep learning. Remote Sens. Environ. 216, 139–153. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.06.028
  14. Kosik E., Wójcik M., Beeger S., Rozempolska-Rucinska I. 2013. Carapace anomalies of pond turtles Emys orbicularis from the Poleski National Park, from the hatch of 2008. J. Anim. Sci. Biol. 31, 34–42.
  15. Liuzzo M., Borella S., Ottonello D., Arizza V., Malavasi S., 2023. Comparing activity and space patterns of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis (L., 1758) in a Venice Lagoon wetland area: implications for conservation planning and management. AMRE 44(2), 153‒166.
  16. Marchand T., Le Gal A.S., Georges J.Y., 2021. Fine scale behaviour and time-budget in the cryptic ectotherm European pond turtle Emys orbicularis. PLoS One 16(10), e0256549.
  17. Mignet F., Gendre T., Reudet D., Malgoire F., Cheylan M., Besnard A., 2014. Short-term evaluation of the success of a reintroduction program of the European Pond Turtle: the contribution of space-use modeling. Chelonian Conserv. Biol. 3, 72–80. https://doi.org/10.2744/CCB-1065.1
  18. Mitrus S., 2006. Przywiązanie do obszaru składania jaj przez samice żółwia błotnego Emys orbicularis (L.). Chrońmy Przyr. Ojczystą 6, 45–55.
  19. Najbar B., 2012. 1220 Żółw błotny Emys orbicularis orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758). In: M. Makomaska-Juchiewicz, P. Baran (eds), Monitoring gatunków zwierząt. Przewodnik metodyczny, vol. III. Główny Inspektorat Ochrony Środowiska, Warszawa, 564–588.
  20. Najbar B., Mitrus S., 2001. Żółw błotny. Monografie przyrodnicze. Wydawnictwo lubuskiego klubu przyrodników, Świebodzin.
  21. Najbar B., Szuszkiewicz E., 2007. Nest-site fidelity of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (Linnaeus, 1758) (Testudines: Emydidae) in western Poland. Acta Zool. Cracov.-Ser. A Vertebrata 50 (1–2), 1–8.
  22. Novotený M., Danko S., Burešová A., Majláth I., Havaš P., 2008. European pond turtle hibernation in Southeastern Slovakia: A preliminary report. Rev. Esp. Herpetol. 22, 139–147.
  23. Owen‐Jones Z., Priol P., Thienpont S., Cheylan M., Sauret G., Coïc C., Besnard A., 2016. The contrasting effects of short‐and long‐term habitat drainage on the population dynamics of freshwater turtles in a human‐dominated landscape. Freshw. Biol. 61(1), 121–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.12687
  24. Olszewski R., 2024. Żółw błotny w Poleskim Parku Narodowym – stan populacji, zagrożenia, aktywna ochrona. In: P. Chołuj (ed.), Ochrona żółwia błotnego w Polsce. Materiały pokonferencyjne. AB Druk, 28-31.
  25. Paul R., Andreas B., 1998. Migration and home range of female European pond turtles (Emys o. orbicularis) in Brandenburg (NE Germany), first results. Mertensiella 10, 193-197.
  26. Prosekov A., Kuznetsov A., Rada A., Ivanova S., 2020. Methods for monitoring large terrestrial animals in the wild. Forests 11(8), 808. https://doi.org/10.3390/f11080808
  27. Rančić K., Blagojević B., Bezdan A., Ivošević B., Tubić B., Vranešević M., Pejak B., Crnojević V., Marko O., 2023. Animal Detection and Counting from UAV Images Using Convolutional Neural Networks. Drones 7, 179. https://doi.org/10.3390/drones7030179
  28. Rey N., Volpi M., Joost S., Tuia D., 2017. Detecting animals in African Savanna with UAVs and the crowds. Remote Sens. Environ. 200, 341–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.08.026
  29. Rees M., Roe J.H., Georges A., 2009. Life in the suburbs: behaviour and survival of a freshwater turtle in response to drought and urbanisation. Biol. Conserv. 142, 3172–3181. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.08.019
  30. Roe J.H., Georges A., 2008. Maintenance of variable responses for coping with wetland drying in freshwater turtles. Ecology, 89, 485–494.
  31. Roe J.H., Brinton A.C., Georges A., 2009. Temporal and spatial variation in landscape connectivity for a freshwater turtle in a temporally dynamic wetland system. Ecol. Appl., 19, 1288–1299.
  32. Rovero F., Chelazzi G. 1996. Nesting migrations in a population of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis (L.) (Chelonia Emydidae) from central Italy. Ethol. Ecol. Evol. 8(3), 297–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/08927014.1996.9522920
  33. Segurado P., Araújo M.B., 2004. An evaluation of methods for modeling species distributions. J. Biogeogr. 31, 1555–1568
  34. Thienpont S., Cadi A., Quesada R., Cheylan M., 2004. Overwintering habits of the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the Isère department (France). Biologia 59, 143–147.
  35. Wójcik M., Beeger S., Czyżowski P., 2024. Use of drones in the monitoring of the European pond turtle Emys orbicularis in habitats of the Poleski National Park (Poland). Pol. J. Sust. Dev. 28(1), 223–230. https://doi.org/ 10.15584/pjsd.2024.28.1.24
  36. Vamberger M., Kos I., 2011. First observations on some aspect on the natural history of European pond turtle Emys orbicularis in Slovenia. Biologia 66(1), 170–174. https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-010-0138-z
  37. Vignoli L., Bologna M.A., Manzini S., Rugiero L., Luiselli L., 2015. Attributes of basking sites of the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) in central Italy. AMRE 36(2), 125‒131.
  38. Zuffi M.A., Rovina L., 2006. Habitat characteristics of nesting areas and of predated nests in a Mediterranean population of the European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis galloitalica. Acta Herpetol. 1, 37–51.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Most read articles by the same author(s)

Similar Articles

1 2 3 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.