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A Relationship Between River Modification And Species Richness Of Freshwater Turtles In Iowa, Terry J. Vandewalle, James L. Christiansen

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

Comparisons were made of turtle populations in Red Rock Reservoir and the major rivers of the Mississippi River and Missouri River damage systems in Iowa. Of the inland rivers of the Mississippi drainage examined in this study, the Des Moines River had the least amount of remaining turtle habitat. Number of turtle species ranged from five in the Des Moines River to 11 in the Mississippi River, but only three species were found in Red Rock Reservoir. In the Missouri drainage, number of turtle species ranged from three in both the Little Sioux and Nishnabotna rivers to five in the …