A golf course can be a beautiful sight for golfers and non-golfers, alike. But does the tremendous amount of manicuring, fertilizing, and pest control behind that beauty spell harm to the animals that dwell there?

All over the world, people are running into the problem of what to do with useless phosphogypsum stacks piling up, and the world could benefit from the use of the substance on outdoor lawns. For years, people across the globe have tried to find a use for this growing problem. I thought the answer might be using phosphogypsum on grass to help it retain water.

Chelydra s. serpentina, the common snapping turtle, is one of the largest freshwater turtles in North America. This species has a large head, powerful jaws, a long tail, and big forelimbs with large claws. When facing a threat, snapping turtles face their attacker and use their long neck to aggressively lunge forward and bite. Females travel great distances over land to find nesting sites (Hulse 2001, Congdon et. al 1987). Males are highly territorial and fight aggressively (Hulse 2001). This species is known for its tolerance to pollution, and is able to survive and even thrive in habitats where other turtle species perish (Hulse 2001). It is one of a small group of species able to live among humans and tolerate highly unnatural settings. By continuing to learn more about this species, we can help insure that it will remain extant and add to the rich biodiversity of life on Earth.