Do turtles have enough variation in adaptive genes to keep pace with climate change?

Hi there Pat - thank you for the generous donation! No turtles were harmed during sample collection, and we had all necessary state and institutional permits! Animals always come first :)

That's a great question Cindy! So I began working on Wisconsin turtles in 2010. Blanding's turtles were the focus of that project because they're a species of conservation concern, both in the state and throughout their range. We've worked out some things needed for their conservation, like basic population structure and diversity for selectively neutral loci, but we know very little about the adaptive diversity that will be needed for dealing with climate change. Snapping turtles provide a really interesting contrast - they're found pretty much everywhere Blanding's are, so we have congruent genetic sampling, but they're very different in other aspects of their biology. For example, snappers are more aquatic, they have a different pattern of temperature-dependent sex determination, and they have a much broader range north to south compared to Blanding's. So by looking at these two species, we should be able to get an idea of how species throughout the spectrum of turtle diversity might have more or less potential to adapt to rising temperatures.