Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are long-lived turtles whose populations are highly sensitive to juvenile recruitment. We used intensive nest monitoring, microclimate logging, soil measurements, and local weather data at two Southeast Michigan sites to quantify how nest placement, incubation environments, and substrate conditions influence emergence success and hatchling condition. Nesting females were morphologically similar in size and produced average clutch sizes for the species (8 ± 2 eggs). Nest sites were found on relatively open, disturbed uplands with sandier soil substrates. Emergence success was generally high (≈ 70-80%) in nests protected from predation. Sandy loam had the highest success rates whereas cobble-rich substrates were associated with markedly higher deformity rates in emerged hatchlings compared to nests without. These results highlight that, beyond predation, fine-scale nest microhabitat and substrate influence hatchling quality. Management should prioritize providing protected, low-cobble, sandy loam or loamy sand nesting habitat within 200–300 m of core aquatic areas.
","abstract_html":"<p>Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are long-lived turtles whose populations are highly sensitive to juvenile recruitment. We used intensive nest monitoring, microclimate logging, soil measurements, and local weather data at two Southeast Michigan sites to quantify how nest placement, incubation environments, and substrate conditions influence emergence success and hatchling condition. Nesting females were morphologically similar in size and produced average clutch sizes for the species (8 ± 2 eggs). Nest sites were found on relatively open, disturbed uplands with sandier soil substrates. Emergence success was generally high (≈ 70-80%) in nests protected from predation. Sandy loam had the highest success rates whereas cobble-rich substrates were associated with markedly higher deformity rates in emerged hatchlings compared to nests without. These results highlight that, beyond predation, fine-scale nest microhabitat and substrate influence hatchling quality. Management should prioritize providing protected, low-cobble, sandy loam or loamy sand nesting habitat within 200–300 m of core aquatic areas.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Boyer, Morgan"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Katherine Greenwald, Ph.D.","Jonathan Hall, Ph.D.","Kristin Judd, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2026-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z","subjects":["Artificial Nest Site Creation","Blanding's Turtle","Emydoidea blandingii","Hatchling","Microhabitat","Substrate","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1343","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Katherine Greenwald, Ph.D.","Jonathan Hall, Ph.D.","Kristin Judd, Ph.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Boyer, Morgan"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-06-22T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Artificial Nest Site Creation","Blanding's Turtle","Emydoidea blandingii","Hatchling","Microhabitat","Substrate","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1343"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are long-lived turtles whose populations are highly sensitive to juvenile recruitment. We used intensive nest monitoring, microclimate logging, soil measurements, and local weather data at two Southeast Michigan sites to quantify how nest placement, incubation environments, and substrate conditions influence emergence success and hatchling condition. Nesting females were morphologically similar in size and produced average clutch sizes for the species (8 ± 2 eggs). Nest sites were found on relatively open, disturbed uplands with sandier soil substrates. Emergence success was generally high (≈ 70-80%) in nests protected from predation. Sandy loam had the highest success rates whereas cobble-rich substrates were associated with markedly higher deformity rates in emerged hatchlings compared to nests without. These results highlight that, beyond predation, fine-scale nest microhabitat and substrate influence hatchling quality. Management should prioritize providing protected, low-cobble, sandy loam or loamy sand nesting habitat within 200–300 m of core aquatic areas.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["From nesting to emergence: Environmental drivers of hatchling success in Blanding’s turtles and implications for management in Southeast Michigan"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Katherine Greenwald, Ph.D.","Jonathan Hall, Ph.D.","Kristin Judd, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["Boyer, Morgan"],"dc:date.available":["2026-06-22T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) are long-lived turtles whose populations are highly sensitive to juvenile recruitment. We used intensive nest monitoring, microclimate logging, soil measurements, and local weather data at two Southeast Michigan sites to quantify how nest placement, incubation environments, and substrate conditions influence emergence success and hatchling condition. Nesting females were morphologically similar in size and produced average clutch sizes for the species (8 ± 2 eggs). Nest sites were found on relatively open, disturbed uplands with sandier soil substrates. Emergence success was generally high (≈ 70-80%) in nests protected from predation. Sandy loam had the highest success rates whereas cobble-rich substrates were associated with markedly higher deformity rates in emerged hatchlings compared to nests without. These results highlight that, beyond predation, fine-scale nest microhabitat and substrate influence hatchling quality. Management should prioritize providing protected, low-cobble, sandy loam or loamy sand nesting habitat within 200–300 m of core aquatic areas.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1343"],"dc:subject":["Artificial Nest Site Creation","Blanding's Turtle","Emydoidea blandingii","Hatchling","Microhabitat","Substrate","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"dc:title":["From nesting to emergence: Environmental drivers of hatchling success in Blanding’s turtles and implications for management in Southeast Michigan"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:53Z"}