Headline
Turtles Die in Southern California Lake Following Drought and Fire
United States

Almost all of the turtles living in a southern California lake died following a large fire and years of drought, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey report published in the journal Knowledge and Management of Aquatic Ecosystems.[1]
This study is the first to examine the interaction of fire and drought on the survival, behavior and health of a semi-aquatic turtle population. Given the likelihood of increasing drought frequency in California’s future, conservation of the southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida), along with other sensitive aquatic organisms, will become an even greater challenge. The southwestern pond turtle is a California Species of Special Concern.
Related Content
Science Source
| AMS Journal of Climate
Is There a Role for Human-Induced Climate Change in the Precipitation Decline that Drove the California Drought?
Richard Seager, Naomi Henderson, Mark A. Cane et al
Science Source
| AMS Journal of Hydrometeorology
Indications for Protracted Groundwater Depletion after Drought over the Central Valley of California
S.-Y. Simon Wang
Science Source
| Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
EEE 2013: Causes of the Extreme Dry Conditions Over California During Early 2013
Hailan Wang and Siegfried Schubert
Science Source
| Nature Climate Change
California from drought to deluge
S.-Y. Simon Wang, Jin-Ho Yoon, Emily Becker and Robert Gillies