Unveiling the Fascinating World of the European Pond Turtle (by Johannes Meka)

by Johannes Meka, Ph.D. Candidate at the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Nature Research Institute, Frankfurt, Germany and the Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC, Strasbourg, France, and 2023 eDNA Collaborative Microgrant recipient 

You think turtles are sluggish? Let me introduce you to the #EuropeanPondTurtle (Emys orbicularis)! This freshwater marvel thrives across Europe and northern Africa. But here's the twist: it's not just surviving; it's battling habitat destruction and #InvasiveSpecies.

Figure 1: Emys orbicularis, born in the wild as part of the reintroduction project Emys-R

I'm part of the Emys-R-Team. My role? To figure out how we can restore #Wetlands effectively, get community support, and ensure it's all sustainable – all in favour of the European pond turtle. But the awesomeness doesn't stop with #Emys. When we help these turtles, we're giving a #biodiversity boost to an entire ecosystem: the #wetland. That means a better world for us and every critter and plant involved.

Here's the exciting part: I'm out there, a freshwater ecologist in action, studying turtle behaviour and their #FoodWeb. Ever wondered what they munched on? To find out, I was in the lab, extracting (e)DNA from their poop (yep, you read that right). And with a sprinkle of lab magic*, voilà! We've got a fancy list showing exactly what's on their menu.

Figure 2: Johannes Meka, turtle monitoring in the field

So here, #eDNA helps to uncover ways to preserve the European pond turtle. But it's not just a turtle tale – it's about reviving a whole ecosystem.

#eDNACollaborative #eDNA #SGNScience #EmysR #Biodiversity #Turtle #TurtleConservation #WetlandRestoration #FreshwaterEcology #EmysOrbicularis #WildlifeResearch

*long hours of pipetting, spending loads of money on sequencing, waiting for results, drinking tons of coffee, ...