Terrapins Uk, Should they stay? (2 Viewers)

[Keith Dickinson]

and not nit picking here bu our native crayfish is actualy called the white clawed, rather than white tailed crayfish.

Sorry...I did know it was claw but brain not in gear when I typed tail... there's a small population of the white-clawed crays close to where I live so they are top of the list for local enviromental controls. They were almost wiped out a few years back by a spillage of diesel, thankfully the spillage hit the stream lower down than the main breeding areas.

 

[captaincarot]

Sorry...I did know it was claw but brain not in gear when I typed tail... there's a small population of the white-clawed crays close to where I live so they are top of the list for local enviromental controls. They were almost wiped out a few years back by a spillage of diesel, thankfully the spillage hit the stream lower down than the main breeding areas.

you lucky man, i've been an angler for 35 years and never yet managed to see one, signals on the other hand i've fought with loads, when i used to live in oxfordshire. the biggest was over a foot long from it's tail to it's claws held out in front of it. i've seen smaller lobsters.

 

[Farnboro John]

Round me the Mink eat Signal Crayfish in summer, mind you they probably don't make much of a dent in the little beggars!

John

 

[Acid John]

I am not sure if the Signal crayfish actualy kill the native ones or if it is the crayfish plague which they carry and are immune to rather like grey squirrels and squirrel pox.

 

[Cheshire Birder]

they can take the odd newly hatched chick. when they are fully grown. a fully grown one will be around 18 inches long but to get there takes 50 years

I must have a very old one at my lake. Saw two yesterday one of about 8 inches and another at least 12 inches. They both dived into the water when they saw me watching them.

CB

 

[karpman]

There is no reason to keep them in the Eco system and no reason for them to remain there.

I don't like tempting fate to much, leave them long enough they will breed and become established. They may not be devastating now but who knows.

karpman

 

[David FG]

There is no reason to keep them in the Eco system and no reason for them to remain there.

I don't like tempting fate to much, leave them long enough they will breed and become established. They may not be devastating now but who knows.

karpman

I would agree with that. I don't think we should be gambling on possible outcomes: the precedents are not good.

 

[Isurus]

I would agree with that. I don't think we should be gambling on possible outcomes: the precedents are not good.

thirded. get them now. it's not particularly difficult (compared with say mink/signal crays/mitten crabs) and there is no reason not to control them.

 

[chris23565]

I am not sure if the Signal crayfish actualy kill the native ones or if it is the crayfish plague which they carry and are immune to rather like grey squirrels and squirrel pox.

It's the bacteria that is carried by the Signal Crayfish that kills ours, it is carried down through the water and attaches itself to our Crayfish when it comes across one.

 

[Farnboro John]

thirded. get them now. it's not particularly difficult (compared with say mink/signal crays/mitten crabs) and there is no reason not to control them.

Actually you might be surprised. In anything bigger than a small pond, their alertness gives them a good chance of evading capture. My local wardens set out to clear a pond of them and eventually gave up on the last coupls of canny ones.

And you can hardly try the Ruddy Duck "final solution" on an armoured vehicle!

John

 

[MarkHows]

Their problem as an invasive species (and ruddy ducks for that matter) is minimal we should be concentration on much more damaging species such as signal crayfish / mink / ferrets (non native on islands) than worring about a few terrapins which yes may eat a duckling occasionally but so do herons and dogs take some in parks.
We still have plenty of ducks on every pond I visit, even ones with terrapins so the demise of mallards and dodgy feral pond ducks (which most seem to be) is not going to happen.

As John has mentioned they are quite hard to catch so the cost will be quite high to remove them although probably not as high as the ruddy duck cull. The money coul dbe spent better elsewhere.


Well thats my two penneth worth

Mark

 

[Mike Richardson]

It wouldn’t hurt for some research to be carried out on ways to trap/euthanize the turtles humanely and effectively (It would be very difficult to re-home them all as most rescue centres are already full to the brim with unwanted reptiles).

This information could then be used to establish a protocol for turtle control in the many countries where non-natives are a serious ecological problem. It would also prove useful in the UK should a turtle be captured accidentally (e.g. by fishermen, pond cleaning etc).

Of course such research costs money, and there is a very long list of invasive organisms that are a much greater threat to our biodiversity/economy. Our effort and money should be spent on these before we start worrying about the turtles. Even with climate change, I would be very if surprised if RE Terrapins established viable breeding populations within the UK.

 

[David FG]

It wouldn’t hurt for some research to be carried out on ways to trap/euthanize the turtles humanely and effectively (It would be very difficult to re-home them all as most rescue centres are already full to the brim with unwanted reptiles).

This information could then be used to establish a protocol for turtle control in the many countries where non-natives are a serious ecological problem. It would also prove useful in the UK should a turtle be captured accidentally (e.g. by fishermen, pond cleaning etc).

Of course such research costs money, and there is a very long list of invasive organisms that are a much greater threat to our biodiversity/economy. Our effort and money should be spent on these before we start worrying about the turtles. Even with climate change, I would be very if surprised if RE Terrapins established viable breeding populations within the UK.

I take your point, but maybe it's an idea to deal with a problem before it gets out of hand: it would make a change.

It's surely not impossible to imagine a situation in which in (say) 30 years we discover that terrapins actually do cause major problems...

 

[winkle]

Of course such research costs money, and there is a very long list of invasive organisms that are a much greater threat to our biodiversity/economy. Our effort and money should be spent on these before we start worrying about the turtles. Even with climate change, I would be very if surprised if RE Terrapins established viable breeding populations within the UK.[/QUOTE]

It was thought American Bullfrogs would not be able to breed in the UK because of the climate - until they did.

 

[David FG]

Of course such research costs money, and there is a very long list of invasive organisms that are a much greater threat to our biodiversity/economy. Our effort and money should be spent on these before we start worrying about the turtles. Even with climate change, I would be very if surprised if RE Terrapins established viable breeding populations within the UK.

It was thought American Bullfrogs would not be able to breed in the UK because of the climate - until they did.

Exactly.

We shouldn't be taking chances on this. History shows us (if it shows nothing else) that if something can go wrong, it will.

 

[captaincarot]

I take your point, but maybe it's an idea to deal with a problem before it gets out of hand: it would make a change.

It's surely not impossible to imagine a situation in which in (say) 30 years we discover that terrapins actually do cause major problems...

yes it is in 30 years time the whole of europe from mid france down would have to be something akin to the saharadesert, in order for ouyr climate to have changed sufficiently for them to breed, they cannont and will not be able to breed in our climate.

they aren't going to eveolve as they cannon produce another generation in order to be able to evolve.

lots of money could be thrown at removing them from our environment, this money would have to come from the budgets of species which do far more damage and are a far greater problem, money which will be utterly wasted when they have died out in 50 to 60 years from old age.
if they could breed in our climate they would inhabit the areas of amnerica with climate similar to ours, they don't because they cannot sustain a viable population in these areas. they cannon sustain a viable population in areas of america which are considerably warmer than our climate currently is.
they pose no long te3rm threat to our current ecosystem and the only way threy could pose a threat would lead to a mass global extinction on a par with that seen when the dinosaurs died out

 

[Russ Jones]

We have an established population of red-eared sliders here in my neck of Southern Ontario, luckily the experts figure our climate is too cold for them to breed. That is until I observed a female laying eggs... and then another.

Cheers,

Russ

 

[fugl]

if they could breed in our climate they would inhabit the areas of amnerica with climate similar to ours, they don't because they cannot sustain a viable population in these areas. they cannon sustain a viable population in areas of america which are considerably warmer than our climate currently is.

Not true. There are currently lots of introduced North American RE Slider breeding populations far north of the original range. See this for map & discussion.

http://nas.er.usgs.gov/queries/FactSheet.aspx?speciesID=1261

 

[RobinD]

We have an established population of red-eared sliders here in my neck of Southern Ontario, luckily the experts figure our climate is too cold for them to breed. That is until I observed a female laying eggs... and then another.

Cheers,

Russ

Did they hatch and what was the sex ratio of the young produced?

 

[David FG]

yes it is in 30 years time the whole of europe from mid france down would have to be something akin to the saharadesert, in order for ouyr climate to have changed sufficiently for them to breed, they cannont and will not be able to breed in our climate.

they aren't going to eveolve as they cannon produce another generation in order to be able to evolve.

lots of money could be thrown at removing them from our environment, this money would have to come from the budgets of species which do far more damage and are a far greater problem, money which will be utterly wasted when they have died out in 50 to 60 years from old age.
if they could breed in our climate they would inhabit the areas of amnerica with climate similar to ours, they don't because they cannot sustain a viable population in these areas. they cannon sustain a viable population in areas of america which are considerably warmer than our climate currently is.
they pose no long te3rm threat to our current ecosystem and the only way threy could pose a threat would lead to a mass global extinction on a par with that seen when the dinosaurs died out

Yes, it's not as if the experts who tell us this sort of stuff have ever been known to get it wrong, is it?