Finding Becky: Endangered turtle research at Merry Lea

This article originally appeared in the Spring/Summer 2024 issue of The Bulletin.

MARY JANE RIETH, co-founder of GC’s Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center, always envisioned the 1,189-acre property as a place where undergraduate students from the college and elsewhere could learn how to conduct ecological research. She knew that these experiences would set students up for success in their future endeavors.

Former Goshen professor and Merry Lea research fellow, Mary Linton, was a key figure in turning Mary Jane’s vision into reality. In the 1990s, Dr. Linton regularly involved GC undergrads in her herpetological research at Merry Lea. More recently, Suzanne Beyeler ’95, former Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at Manchester University and current Associate Professor of Biology at Indiana Institute of Technology, and Jason Martin, Executive Director of Merry Lea, furthered this effort when they began a study on the state endangered Blanding’s turtle at Merry Lea in 2021. They have engaged students from Goshen College and Manchester University in this project every year since then, including a GC summer research scholar annually funded by Merry Lea and named in honor of Linton, who passed away in 2021.

Since 2021, 15 turtles have been found by student researchers in five of Merry Lea’s wetlands, four of which had no prior known records of this species living in them. They even named one Becky after President Stoltzfus. Each turtle was measured, weighed and etched with a unique pattern of shallow shell notches before being released so they could be identified again if re-encountered. They also attached small radio transmitters to six of these turtles, which allow for locating the turtles from a distance using an antenna and receiver. By tracking each turtle, the researchers understanding of the turtle’s habitat and behavior has expanded.

The presence of Blanding’s turtles at Merry Lea is a special testament to the efforts of Bill Minter, Merry Lea’s Director of Land Management, as turtles have been found in several wetlands he has restored during his 33-year career. Without Minter’s efforts, these turtles would likely not be present at Merry Lea anymore.

Through engagement in this study, and by working with peers and mentors from another college, GC undergrads have become better prepared to engage in the collaborative approach required to tackle our most pressing environmental problems.

By Kayla Beasley