Type: report

Article abstract: Data Summary. In 2001, Harmsworth Associates, an environmental consulting group, translocated 27 pond turtles from Bommer Creek and an adjacent tributary to a pond in Shady Canyon to mitigate for the loss of turtle habitat from the development of the Shady Canyon Golf Course and residences near Bommer Creek. The pond at Shady Canyon was a former cattle pond that was reconstructed in 2002 to better retain water and provide habitat for pond turtles (Harmsworth Associates & Goodman 2002). The location of the pond in upper Shady Canyon is within the Nature Reserve of Orange County (Figure 1). The pond was chosen because it had some protections being within a nature reserve, it had suitable upland habitat, and it was relatively isolated from public access (Harmsworth Associates & Goodman 2003). Since the translocation, pond turtles have established a successful breeding population (Harmsworth Associates 2007, 2013). However, in 2005, the African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), a non-native species, invaded the site and established a successful breeding population. The American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus) has also been documented at Shady Canyon as recently as 2021, but in much lower numbers. Both clawed frogs and bullfrogs directly compete with pond turtles for food. In addition, bullfrog adults are known predators of juvenile pond turtles (Moyle 1973, Holland 1991)