Geographic Variation in the Seasonal Activity Cycle of Spotted Turtles, Clemmys guttata

The spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata ) is a small semi-aquatic species that typically inhabits shallow wetlands. There are no published accounts regarding the seasonal activity cycle of this essentially northern species in the southern part of its range. If aversion to high temperature is consistent in the species, then turtles at lower latitudes should initiate their activity cycle earlier than populations at higher latitudes. The objective of this study was to compare the seasonal activity cycles of C. guttata from various geographic regions.