I have spent many years studying Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) at Kiawah Island, South Carolina. The primarily mark-recapture project was begun in 1983 by J. Whitfield “Whit” Gibbons, and I took over its management around 2000. In 2016, my former student Kristen Cecala, now a professor at Sewanee, and Cris Hagen, Director of the Turtle Survival Center, began managing the project, which continues today as the longest-running study of Diamondback Terrapins in the world.
Over the decades, the project has produced numerous scientific publications and book chapters while giving generations of students opportunities to conduct meaningful field research. One of the most remarkable aspects of a long-term study is its ability to connect generations: students sometimes collected data from terrapins that had first been marked before those students were born.
Diamondback Terrapins are uniquely adapted to life in coastal salt marshes and brackish estuaries. Our work at Kiawah documented a substantial population decline and demographic changes consistent with the selective mortality of males and smaller females in crab traps. Because terrapins must surface to breathe, those entering submerged traps often drown before the traps are retrieved.
In Marsh Girl, I wanted to portray the individuality and quiet presence of a mature female. The close composition emphasizes her pale face, spotted skin, strong claws, and the concentric patterns of a shell shaped by years in the tidal marsh.
Marsh Girl is a graphite pencil Diamondback Terrapin drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art. Reference photograph courtesy of John D. Willson.