New Location Records for Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) Captured during Fishery Surveys in Alabama

Abstract

Macrochelys temminckii (Alligator Snapping Turtle) is classified as a species of moderate conservation concern by the State of Alabama and is proposed for listing as threatened under the Endangered Species Act by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Using the most up-to-date and best available distribution and biological data is paramount in the decisionmaking process for any petitioned or proposed-listed species. We provide an additional 21 Alligator Snapping Turtle records from Alabama collected as bycatch during fishery surveys. We incidentally captured 19 Alligator Snapping Turtles from the Alabama (n = 12), Tombigbee (n = 6), and Conecuh (n = 1) rivers and observed 2 additional specimens from the Tallapoosa River drainage. For both the Alabama and Tombigbee rivers combined, 89% of our Alligator Snapping Turtle captures were in backwater areas (i.e., off channel), which are new location records in these river drainages. Researchers and managers should consider contacting and collaborating with colleagues across scientific disciplines to compile and provide the best available data for current species assessments.Macrochelys temminckii (Troost in Harlan) (Alligator Snapping Turtle) is native to river drainages of the Gulf of Mexico including the Mississippi River basin, Mobile River basin, and Gulf Coastal Plain rivers of Mississippi,

Pre‐impoundment fish migrations in the Mobile Basin, Alabama

“…If these were native Alabama Shad, then it would be the only known occurrences of the species above the fall line in any Mobile Basin tributary from that time. Much later, between 1950 and 1964, Royal Suttkus collected hundreds of adult and juvenile Alabama Shad above and below the fall line in the Cahaba River (Rider et al., 2021). Interestingly, the Cahaba River was the only tributary without a dam.…”

“…Alabama Shad would have had to be snagged or trapped to be captured, which was very rarely reported, especially in the coastal plain where traps were less common. Furthermore, it has been found that Alabama Shad prefer sand‐bottom rivers with limestone outcrops for spawning, which are much more common below the fall line (Rider et al., 2021).…”

“…It has been listed as a Priority 2 species (High Conservation Concern) by the State of Alabama (Mirarchi et al., 2004), and has been petitioned for Federal listing under the Endangered Species Act. Only five individuals have been collected from the Mobile Basin since 1994 (Rider et al., 2021). Prior to 1994, scientific collections confirmed their presence in every major tributary below the fall line except the Tallapoosa River (Table 3).…”

Anthropogenic Threats to Alligator Snapping Turtles (Chelydridae: Macrochelys)

“…Gill nets are a type of entanglement device used primarily in commercial fisheries and fisheries research (Hubert et al 2013). Barko et al (2004) and Rider et al (2023 [this issue]) reported low rates of turtle bycatch using gill nets. Barko et al (2004) did not work within the geographic range of M. temminckii but did capture Common Snapping Turtles using the 5 gear types compared; gill nets had the lowest turtle bycatch rate.…”

“…Barko et al (2004) did not work within the geographic range of M. temminckii but did capture Common Snapping Turtles using the 5 gear types compared; gill nets had the lowest turtle bycatch rate. Rider et al (2023 [this issue]) reported capturing M. temminckii in Alabama at a rate of ∼0.079 per gill net-night (24-h period). We recorded 1 instance of a Louisiana commercial fisherman capturing a 40-kg M. temminckii in a gill net (see ).…”