Review: Diamonds in the Marsh: A Natural History of the Diamondback Terrapin. Barbara Brennessel. 2006

(University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH; 219 pgs. Hardcover $26.00)

If you want a current reference on the diamondback terrapin, here is one. The bibliography alone, though remarkably incomplete, is probably worth the price of the book. Additionally, there are tables, diagrams and photographs that should be of interest to many readers. The book is up-to-date and covers the subject. The subtitle implies the book is about the natural history of terrapins, but a vast percentage of the text is about terrapin related research, conservation issues and solutions, and historical accounts. This is an adequate book, but it has its shortcomings.

Brennessel is a professor at Wheaton College, and her training is in laboratory biology. It is interesting to see how a trained biochemist interprets and presents her new passion, the natural history of terrapins. And of all species THE terrapin, the most celebrated of American turtles (Conant, 1958, et seq., A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians), a species important to colonial America, a former gourmet food item, a turtle that for nearly 40 years was propagated by the U. S. Bureau of Fisheries and released into the Chesapeake Bay, and currently a species of contention to those concerned with it’s welfare and conservation. For any writer, this is a real challenge.

I opened this book with the hope that its pages would distill current biological issues regarding the terrapin’s biology into a popular context. This in turn would frame growing conservation concerns into a format that could engage the public. While many of the pieces of these issues are here, the author leaves the reader with third person accounts of this and that, and gives little insight into the complexity, consequences, and cumulative effects of the problems. The book, while informative, provides no direction and has no meaningful conclusion.

Chapters in the book cover; (1) an introduction to the species, (2) state and regional summaries of the species occurrence and its habitat, (3) reproduction, (4) information on the habitat and behavior of immature terrapins, (5) dangers facing terrapins, and (6) information on protective legislation, conservation efforts, and current research. Combined, these chapters provide an overview of the species, its habitats, and its former and current interactions with man.

If we examine the information presented from the geographic interest of Mid-Atlantic Turtle & Tortoise Society members, the text’s coverage in Chapter 2 is uneven. This is in part a result of varying levels of work that have been accomplished in different states, but it also reflects upon the author’s awareness of this information. The Atlantic coast region of New Jersey is discussed in detail, yet the Delaware Bay portion of that state and Delaware itself is barely mentioned. The Chesapeake Bay is described and defined but the information on the terrapins living here is scant, and the portions of the Bay used by terrapins are not identified. Discussion regarding terrapins in Virginia is limited to only a few sentences.

State and regional information is presented again in Chapter 6. Specific mid-Atlantic region information includes: protection, demographics, approaches to population studies, genetics, habitat restoration, crab pots, nest predation, rehabilitation of individual turtles, and regional strategies. Regional strategies include efforts in New Jersey and Maryland. There is also information about a range-wide terrapin working group that was established in 2004. For the most part these sections present information that has been or will be learned through a basic literature search or common sense tinkering, but the author cannot abandon her academic training. She often reverts to her scientific concerns, concluding that while pilot programs provide valuable information, much more study is needed. She downplays positive conservation incentives with a number of statements considering “well what if”, and “this needs further study.” To the author, the notions of science seem more important than common sense conservation or directly helping the situation. Nearly six pages are devoted to genetic studies and their importance to terrapins while a complex topic like habitat restoration that can actually be achieved locally by individual waterfront property owners is limited to three paragraphs.

The regional strategies for New Jersey and Maryland basically detail the work of two successful conservationists. The efforts of Roger Wood (NJ) and Marguerite Wheldon (MD) are both discussed in depth. While Brennessel does a good job of explaining the efforts put forth in these states, I don’t think she appreciates how pioneering these programs really are. They are not just innovative for terrapins, but they are model programs that can be modified for any number of turtle conservation initiatives elsewhere in the world. In addition to all the direct benefits to terrapins that these two programs provide, their greatest benefits will perhaps be in generating lasting awareness of the turtle’s plight and public sector interest in correcting important conservation issues.

The Terrapin Task Force, a directive of a Maryland Governor in 2001, is also discussed in detail in Chapter 6. The fourteen recommendations of the Task Force are each listed. Unfortunately the book went to press prior to the passage of Maryland’s new regulations: regulations that ignored all but two of the recommendations, including an immediate moratorium that should have been implemented six years ago. Despite the Task Force’s proposed actions being considered an executive order, all the important ones - the ones that would help the Bay’s terrapin populations - were ignored.

Now with new regulations and rapidly increasing existing markets and new markets, Maryland’s commercial fishermen have expanded their annual take. The number of people with commercial licenses this last year has quadrupled, and we are seeing terrapins for sale on eBay and as pets. The new regulations that were set in place to help terrapin populations actually opened the door for additional exploration.

The idea for the Task Force came from Marguerite Wheldon, a DNR Fisheries staff member assigned to overseeing the Bay’s terrapin population. Her position was terminated after an administrative change and she now heads up the non-profit Terrapin Institute. Over the years Wheldon has initiated a number of successful educational and conservation programs that focus on the needs of the Bay’s terrapins. Two of the more interesting ones involve headstarting hatchling terrapins in classrooms and later releasing the young turtles into the Bay, and intercepting adult terrapins on their way to food markets. The terrapins are purchased directly from commercial fishermen, marked and then released back into the Bay. Both programs are extremely successful from an educational and public awareness perspective and clearly have the potential to contribute to the conservation of the Bay’s troubled terrapin populations. Yet without ever weighing the pros and cons of these programs, the author, after listing some “science” related concerns, keeps referring to these efforts as “controversial”. In so doing she essentially dismisses some of the most potentially successful conservation initiatives attempted to date. Headstarting/release is now a recognized method for enhancing chelonian populations, and giving market bound turtles a second chance at life is rather straight forward. Wheldon has responded to the imagined concerns of nay-sayers and while her methods may be labeled as unconventional by some academic biologists, they seem to be working. Wheldon’s Terrapin Institute runs on private funding, and she has made the choice to use these funds to support pro-active conservation efforts that directly help terrapins. Why is it that the world cheers when we ”Free Willy” while efforts to save thousands of terrapins from Asian soup pots is greeted with negative asides by scientists who themselves have not put effort towards studies to confirm the obvious benefits? I might add that these scientists have not been able to demonstrate that Wheldon’s efforts don’t help terrapins, yet they continue to imply that they are without merit by using words like “controversial” and “worrisome.” The gaps between implementing what has been learned from research and the goals of research biologists, the conclusions of state agencies, common sense, and actual working conservation programs are perhaps wider and deeper in terrapin management than almost for any other species.

This is a factual and straightforward book, and as such it is a little on the dry side. The text comes across as a classroom lecture as the author seldom becomes personally involved in the subject, and in her scientific approach fails to take a stand on any number of the compelling issues presented. The writing style is flagged with the constant over use of “science” buzzwords such as data (vs. information) and utilized (vs. used).  The author takes time to define an everyday word like “dyke” yet discusses survival rates of 0.83 and 0.20 like these numbers can create an instant mental image in her readers’ minds. Her academic objectiveness eventually reaches a point where the reader is not engrossed with the text. We do not get to know the watermen who harvest the terrapins, or the scientists or conservationists who work with the terrapins, and the terrapin itself is presented only as an organized assemblage of information. The pull of spring tides, the tranquil greens of the salt marsh cord grasses, and traditional dialect of the watermen are not included. The subjects have no personalities and the book reads like a loosely organized laundry list of facts. Compared to similar attempts to develop a comprehensive, yet enjoyable accounts of a particular species, this book falls way short of classics such as William Warner’s discussion of blue crabs in Beautiful Swimmers (1976) and Carl Safina’s odyssey of leatherback sea turtles in Voyage of the Turtle (2006).

Furthermore, the book has no direction; its author restates the conclusions of scientific papers and historical facts, yet gives no opinion of its own. Some key issues are totally omitted. After searching for specific information it becomes clear that the text is not logically organized. While it is compartmentalized into various sections that make sense as you read, it’s difficult to go back and locate a piece of information once read. For example, various aspects of terrapins being captured in crab pots are discussed in no less than eight different places through the book. Complicating this, the index is not inclusive. Topics like “Maryland” are not listed and while the Terrapin Institute is only listed once in the index, it is referred to repeatedly in several chapters. Wheldon’s name comes up throughout the book yet is not indexed.

Many of the issues brought forth by the book are not put into context, and readers not already familiar with the problems facing terrapins would have no clue as to their severity or how they interrelate. For example, under “natural predators” raccoons are discussed in detail, while foxes and skunks are not mentioned. Nor are fire ants, an introduced species that in the south preys on turtle hatchlings as they emerge from eggs. Do they also prey on hatchling terrapins? The issue is not even mentioned. While raccoons are a real concern, the problems they cause are enhanced because in the absence of larger native carnivores and the fact that raccoon populations have expanded as a result of receiving food subsidies in garbage cans and through other unnatural food sources - key points not included in the book.

The real flaw of Diamonds in the Marsh, however, is the fact that while the terrapin remains a commercial “seafood,” the author fails to really address this issue.  She comments on it, cites a few good points Wheldon makes, and then moves on to the next threat, “Natural Predators.” In table 6.1 she provides information on the regulations regarding harvest from state to state but in the text she takes no stand on the issue. Of all the cumulative problems facing these turtles, the commercial harvest is the simplest to remedy. In fact, most states have already closed the “fishery” and others are in the process of doing so. There is a wealth of biological information available in scientific literature and all of it states that turtles, including terrapins, cannot support commercial harvest sustainability yet this is never addressed. The author gives no opinion on it, and she is apparently unaware of the strong opinions of the academic community regarding the species’ commercial exploitation.

As it is difficult to thoroughly check sources and facts in a book of this type, one is always looking for clues that would indicate levels of accuracy. One I found is rather telling; while discussing terrapin shell fowling by mollusks, the author includes barnacles in the discussion. Most self-respecting barnacles would be quite insulted to be classified with lowly snails and clams, but more importantly this simple error shows quite a gap in the author’s understanding of basic animal relationships. Turtle people will probably have more difficulty with the author including painted turtles in the genus Pseudemys (in another part of the book it is presented correctly), and I had questions about some of her information regarding the geologic age of the Chesapeake Bay. Based on these and other examples, the text of this book probably should not be used as a factual resource.

On the other hand, we are dealing with a book about a reptile that the state of Maryland treats and regulates as a fish, and manages under their Fishery division. The latter has much deeper consequences than obvious simple text errors such as understanding invertebrate classification or confusion over scientific names. The general discussion about animal classification, the relationship of turtles to other animals, and textbook turtle anatomy appeared to be filler. To me it looked like squandered space that could have been used for more specific information. However, since our state agencies still regulates terrapins as a commercial fish, perhaps this generic information is important. At a public hearing in February 2007 the state fisheries staff kept referring to terrapin nesting behavior with the fisheries term -- spawning. With luck someone will purchase Maryland’s DNR a copy of this book; maybe someone there will even read it and discover that terrapins are a type of turtle, and that turtles are actually reptiles. Though perhaps not the intended one, this book does have an audience.

David S. Lee, The Tortoise Reserve, P.O. Box 7083, White Lake, North Carolina 28337