Terrapins can hear!

Today was my third day at the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole, MA. I've completed hearing tests on three of the five terrapins that I brought with me and I'm proud to report that terrapins can hear (although not very well!). In the photo, you can see a female terrapin that has an electrode in her ear and an electrode in her midline (i.e., brain). The brass object is an earphone that is fitted to the turtle's ear. The basic idea is that a sound is played through the earphone to the turtle and then the electrodes collect information regarding the auditory nerve's reaction to the sound. I know that everyone has been losing sleep over not knowing whether terrapins can hear. So go ahead and rest easy tonight. (:

I also had the opportunity to perform CT head scans at Woods Hole Oceanography Institue (WHOI) on two of my terrapins (a male and a female). These scans allowed us to take a closer look at the structure of the terrapin ear. Pretty cool stuff!

Other than that, I will admit that I'm missing Barnegat Bay. Hopefully, I'll be able to head back to the field station within the next few days. In the meantime, I have a weird feeling that things are going very well in NJ and that they've caught 48395 turtles since I left!