Editing Painted turtle (section)

==Distribution==

===Range===

The most widespread North American turtle,{{sfn|Gervais et al.|2009|p=5}} the painted turtle is the only turtle whose native range extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific.{{#tag:ref|The range description and map primarily rely on Conant and Collins (1998) and Ernst and Lovich have a similar range map.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}} Additional citations and notes cover details of range boundaries especially in the West.|group="nb"}} It is native to eight of Canada's ten provinces, forty-five of the fifty United States, and one of Mexico's thirty-one states. On the East Coast, it lives from the [[Maritimes|Canadian Maritimes]] to the U.S. state of Georgia. On the West Coast, it lives in British Columbia, Washington, and Oregon and offshore on southeast [[Vancouver Island]].{{#tag:ref|Vancouver Island painted turtle populations may have resulted from escaped pets.<ref name="BC"/>|group="nb"}} The northernmost American turtle,<ref name="BC">{{cite web|last=Blood |first=Donald A. |title=Painted turtle |url=http://www.paintedturtle.ca/content/pdf/Painted_Turtles_Willife_at_Risk.pdf |publisher=Wildlife Branch, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, British Columbia |author2=Macartney, Malcolm |format=brochure |date=March 1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107080323/http://www.paintedturtle.ca/content/pdf/Painted_Turtles_Willife_at_Risk.pdf |archive-date=January 7, 2010 }}</ref> its range includes much of southern Canada. To the south, its range reaches the U.S. Gulf Coast in Louisiana and Alabama. In the southwestern United States there are only dispersed populations. It is found in one river in extreme northern Mexico. It is absent in a part of southwestern Virginia and the adjacent states as well as in north-central Alabama.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Conant>{{cite book|last=Conant|first=Roger|title=Field guide to reptiles and amphibians of eastern and central North America|date=1998|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harc|location=New York|isbn=978-0-395-90452-7|pages=[https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept00cona_0/page/185 185–186]|author2=Collins, Joseph T.|url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetorept00cona_0/page/185}}</ref><ref name="VAFG range">{{cite web|url=https://dwr.virginia.gov/wildlife/information/eastern-painted-turtle/|title=Eastern painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta picta'')|publisher=Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries |access-date=2017-10-06|date=2004-03-12}}</ref> There is a harsher divide between midland and eastern painted turtles in the southeast because they are separated by the Appalachian mountains, but the two subspecies tend to mix in the northeast.<ref>ERNST, C. H., ORR, J. M., LAEMMERZAHL, A. F., & CREQUE, T. R. (2015). Variation and zoogeography of the turtle Chrysemys picta in Virginia, USA. ''Herpetological Bulletin'', ''130'', 9-15.</ref>

[[File:Painted Turtle Distribution alternate.svg|center|thumb|alt=Map of North America showing the subspecies' specific ranges in different colors|800px|
{| width=100%
|-
|
'''Native range of the painted turtle (''C.&nbsp;picta'')'''<br/>
Dark grey for national borders<br/>
White for state and province borders<br/>
Dark blue for rivers, only showing those in article<br/>
|
{{legend|#f8ee77|border=1px solid #f8ee77|Eastern (''C.&nbsp;p.&nbsp;picta'')}}
{{legend|#f79c6d|border=1px solid #f79c6d|Midland (''C.&nbsp;p.&nbsp;marginata'')}}
{{legend|#92cdf6|border=1px solid #92cdf6|Southern (''C.&nbsp;dorsalis'')}}
{{legend|#e57e79|border=1px solid #e57e79|Western (''C.&nbsp;p.&nbsp;bellii'')}}
|
Intergrade mixtures (large areas only)<br/>
{{legend|#fbcd41|border=1px solid #fbcd41|Mix of eastern and midland}}
{{legend|#d3e179|border=1px solid #d3e179|Mix of eastern and southern}}
{{legend|#e9573b|border=1px solid #e9573b|Mix of midland and western}}
|}]]

The borders between the four subspecies are not sharp, because the subspecies interbreed. Many studies have been performed in the border regions to assess the intermediate turtles, usually by comparing the anatomical features of hybrids that result from intergradation of the classical subspecies.{{#tag:ref|See the following sources.<ref name="AL intergrade" /><ref name="Wright">{{cite journal|doi=10.1656/1092-6194(2002)009[0363:PTCPOV]2.0.CO;2|last=Wright|first=Katherine M.|author2=Andrews, James S.|title=Painted turtles (''Chrysemys picta'') of Vermont: An examination of phenotypic variation and intergradation|journal=Northeastern Naturalist|date=2002|volume=9|issue=4|pages=363–380|publisher=Humboldt Field Research Institute|s2cid=85941615 }}</ref><ref name="Weller">{{cite journal|last=Weller|first=Wayne F.|author2=Hecnar, Stephen J. |author3=Hecnar, Darlene R. |author4=Casper, Gary S. |author5= Dawson, F. Neil |title=Quantitative assessment of intergradation between two subspecies of painted turtles, ''Chrysemys picta bellii'' and ''C.&nbsp;p.&nbsp;marginata'', in the Algoma district of west central Ontario, Canada|journal=Herpetological Conservation and Biology|date=2010|volume=5|issue=2|pages=166–173|url=http://www.herpconbio.org/Volume_5/Issue_2/Weller_etal_2010.pdf}}</ref>{{sfn|Mann|2007|p=20}}<ref name=Ultsch>{{cite journal|author=Ultsch, Gordon R.|author2=Ward, G. Milton|author3=LeBerte, Chere' M.|author4=Kuhajda, Bernard R.|author5=Stewart, E. Ray |title=Intergradation and origins of subspecies of the turtle ''Chrysemys picta'': morphological comparisons|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|date=2001|volume=79|issue=3|pages=485–498|doi=10.1139/z01-001}}</ref>|group="nb"}} Despite the imprecision, the subspecies are assigned nominal ranges.

====Eastern painted turtle====

[[File:Turtle from Pomp's Pond in Andover.jpg|thumb|alt=An eastern painted turtle held|Eastern painted turtle in Massachusetts]]

The eastern painted turtle ranges from southeastern Canada to Georgia with a western boundary at approximately the Appalachians. At its northern extremes, the turtle tends to be restricted to the warmer areas closer to the Atlantic Ocean. It is uncommon in far north New Hampshire and in Maine is common only in a strip about 50 miles from the coast.<ref name="NHFG range">{{cite web|title=Eastern painted turtle|url=http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/profiles/painted-turtle.html|publisher=New Hampshire Fish and Game Department|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=2017-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006162117/http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/wildlife/profiles/painted-turtle.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Hunter>{{cite book|last=Hunter|first=Malcolm L.|title=Maine amphibians and reptiles|date=1999|publisher=University of Maine Press|isbn=978-0-89101-096-8|author2=Calhoun, Aram J. K. |author3=McCollough, Mark }} as cited by {{cite web|title=Amphibians and reptiles|url=http://www.dlwa.org/docs/reptiles_and_amphibians.pdf|publisher=Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association|access-date=2011-02-10}}</ref> In Canada, it lives in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia but not in Quebec or Prince Edward Island. To the south it is not found in the coastal lowlands of southern North Carolina, South Carolina, or Georgia, or in southern Georgia in general or at all in Florida.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Conant/>{{sfn|Carr|1952|p=215}}<ref name="AL FG"/>

In the northeast, there is extensive mixing with the midland subspecies, and some writers have called these turtles a "hybrid swarm".<ref name="Bleakney 1958" /><ref name=Pugh>{{cite journal|last=Pugh|first=F. Harvey|author2=Pugh, Margaret B.|title=The systematic status of painted turtles (''Chrysemys'') in the northeastern United States |journal=Copeia|date=1968-07-31|volume=1968|issue=1|pages=612–618|jstor=1442033|doi=10.2307/1442033}}</ref><ref name=DeGraaf>{{cite book|last=DeGraaf|first=Richard M.|title=New England wildlife: habitat, natural history, and distribution|date=2000|publisher=University Press of New England|location=Lebanon, New Hampshire|isbn=978-0-87451-957-0|author2=Yamasaki, Mariko|page=[https://archive.org/details/newenglandwildli00degr/page/52 52]|quote=In New England there are no midland populations per se. Individuals are part of an intergrade swarm.|url=https://archive.org/details/newenglandwildli00degr/page/52}}</ref> In the southeast, the border between the eastern and midland is more sharp as mountain chains separate the subspecies to different drainage basins.<ref name=Conant/><ref name="Green and Pauley">{{cite book|last=Green|first=N. Baynard|title=Amphibians and reptiles in West Virginia|date=1987|publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press|isbn=978-0-8229-5802-4|author2=Pauley, Thomas K.}} as cited in [[#CITEREFMann2007|Mann]] p 18.</ref>

====Midland painted turtle====

The midland painted turtle lives from southern Ontario and Quebec, through the eastern U.S. Midwest states, to Kentucky, Tennessee and northwestern Alabama, where it intergrades with the southern painted turtle.<ref name="Ernst 1970">{{cite journal|last=Ernst|first=Carl H.|title=The status of the painted turtle, ''Chrysemys picta'', in Tennessee and Kentucky|journal=Journal of Herpetology|date=1970-05-29|volume=4|issue=1|pages=39–45|jstor=1562701|doi=10.2307/1562701}}</ref> It also is found eastward through West Virginia, western Maryland and Pennsylvania. The midland painted turtle appears to be moving east, especially in Pennsylvania.<ref name="Sheils">{{cite web|last=Shiels|first=Andrew L|title=A picta worth a thousand words: Portrait of a painted turtle|url=http://www.fishandboat.com/Resource/AmphibiansandReptiles/Documents/pictathousand.pdf|work=Pennsylvania Angler and Boater catalog|publisher=Pennsylvania Fish and Boating Commission|pages=28–30|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=2017-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170212165141/http://www.fishandboat.com/Resource/AmphibiansandReptiles/Documents/pictathousand.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> To the northeast it is found in western New York and much of Vermont, and it intergrades extensively with the eastern subspecies.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=186}}<ref name=Conant/>{{Clear}}

====Western painted turtle====
[[File:Western painted turtle.jpg|thumb|Western painted turtle (watercolor by Gordon)]]
The western painted turtle's northern range includes southern parts of western Canada from Ontario through Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. This subspecies is one of only two native turtle species in this area.<ref>Guderyahn, Laura B., et al. "LONG-TERM RECAPTURE OF WESTERN PAINTED TURTLE (CHRYSEMYS PICTA BELLII): LONGEVITY IMPLICATIONS." Northwestern Naturalist: A Journal of Vertebrate Biology, vol. 104, no. 1, spring 2023, pp. 72+. Gale In Context: Science, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A743240001/SCIC?u=clemsonu_main&sid=bookmark-SCIC&xid=7841b8d6. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.</ref> In Ontario, the western subspecies is found north of Minnesota and directly north of Lake Superior, but there is a {{convert|130|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}} gap to the east of Lake Superior (in the area of harshest winter climate) where no painted turtles of any subspecies occur. Thus Ontario's western subspecies does not intergrade with the midland painted turtle of southeastern Ontario.<ref name=Weller/> In Manitoba, the turtle is numerous and ranges north to [[Lake Manitoba]] and the lower part of [[Lake Winnipeg]]. The turtle is also common in south Saskatchewan,<ref>{{cite journal|last1=MacCulloch, R.D. and D.M. Secoy|title=Demography, growth and food of western painted turtles, ''Chrysemys picta bellii'' (Gray) from southern Saskatchewan|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|date=1983|volume=61|issue=7|pages=1499–1509|doi=10.1139/z83-202}}</ref> but in Alberta, there may only be 100 individuals, all found very near the U.S. border, mostly in the southeast.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Conant/><ref name=Stebbins/>{{sfn|COSEWIC|2006|pp=6–8}}

[[File:Western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii), Oregon - 20060422.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=turtle on log looking up, we see it from the rear|Western painted turtle in Oregon]]

In British Columbia, populations exist in the interior in the vicinity of the Kootenai, Columbia, Okanagan, and Thompson river valleys. At the coast, turtles occur near the mouth of the Fraser and a bit further north, as well as the bottom of Vancouver Island, and some other nearby islands. Within British Columbia, the turtle's range is not continuous and can better be understood as northward extensions of the range from the United States. High mountains present barriers to east–west movement of the turtles within the province or from Alberta. Some literature has shown isolated populations much further north in British Columbia and Alberta, but these were probably pet-releases.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Conant/><ref name=Stebbins/>{{sfn|COSEWIC|2006|pp=6–8}}

In the United States, the western subspecies forms a wide intergrade area with the midland subspecies covering much of Illinois as well as a strip of Wisconsin along [[Lake Michigan]] and part of the [[Upper Peninsula of Michigan]] (UP). Further west, the rest of Illinois, Wisconsin and the UP are part of the range proper, as are all of Minnesota and Iowa, as well as all of Missouri except a narrow strip in the south. All of North Dakota is within range, all of South Dakota except a very small area in the west, and all of Nebraska. Almost all of Kansas is in range; the border of that state with Oklahoma is roughly the species range border, but the turtle is found in three counties of north central Oklahoma.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Conant/><ref name="OK">{{cite web |title=Species of turtles in OK |url=http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishregs/turtlebullfrogreg.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525184242/http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/fishregs/turtlebullfrogreg.htm <!--Added by H3llBot--> |archive-date=2011-05-25 |access-date=2011-07-21 |publisher=Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation}}</ref><ref name=Stebbins/>

To the northwest, almost all of Montana is in range. Only a narrow strip in the west, along most of the Idaho border (which is at the [[Continental Divide]]) lacks turtles.<ref name=MTFG>{{cite web|title=Painted turtle – ''Chrysemys picta''|url=http://fieldguide.mt.gov/detail_ARAAD01010.aspx|work=Montana field guides|publisher=Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks|access-date=2011-02-11}}</ref> Wyoming is almost entirely out of range; only the lower elevation areas near the eastern and northern borders have painted turtles.<ref name=WYFG>{{cite web|title=Western painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta belli'') |url=http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/CompConvStrategy/Species/Reptiles/PDFS/Western%20Painted%20Turtle.pdf |work=Wyoming conservation strategy |publisher=Wyoming Game and Fish Department |access-date=2011-02-11 |pages=430–431 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041106063053/http://gf.state.wy.us/wildlife/CompConvStrategy/Species/Reptiles/PDFS/Western%20Painted%20Turtle.pdf |archive-date=November 6, 2004 }}</ref> In Idaho, the turtles are found throughout the far north (upper half of the [[Idaho Panhandle]]). Recently, separate Idaho populations have been observed in the southwest (near the [[Payette River|Payette]] and [[Boise River|Boise]] rivers) and the southeast (near [[St. Anthony, Idaho|St. Anthony]]).<ref name="BLM ID">{{cite web |url=http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/bio/reptile/test/chpi/chpi.htm |title=''Chrysemys picta'' (Painted Turtle) |last=Cossel |first= John |date=1997 |website=Idaho Museum of Natural History |publisher=Idaho State University |access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref> In Washington state, turtles are common throughout the state within lower elevation river valleys.<ref name="WA herp atlas">{{cite web|last=Hallock|first=L. A.|title=Painted turtle|url=http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/herp_atlas/speciesmain.html|work=Washington herp atlas|publisher=Washington Department of Natural Resources|access-date=2017-10-06|author2=McAllister, K. R.|date=2005-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170302032840/http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/herp_atlas/speciesmain.html|archive-date=2017-03-02|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Oregon, the turtle is native to the northern part of the state throughout the Columbia River Valley as well as the Willamette River Valley north of Salem.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Stebbins/>{{sfn|Gervais et al.|2009|pp=26–31}}

To the southwest, the painted turtle's range is fragmented. In Colorado, while range is continuous in the eastern, prairie, half of the state, it is absent in most of the western, mountainous, part of the state. However, the turtle is confirmed present in the lower elevation southwest part of the state ([[Archuleta County, Colorado|Archuleta]] and [[La Plata County, Colorado|La Plata]] counties), where a population ranges into northern New Mexico in the [[San Juan River (Colorado River)|San Juan River]] basin.<ref name=CODW>{{cite web|title=Painted turtle|url=http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Lists/Wildlife%20Species/DispForm.aspx?ID=189|work=Species profiles|publisher=Colorado Division of Wildlife|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=2017-10-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212005/http://cpw.state.co.us/learn/Lists/Wildlife%20Species/DispForm.aspx?ID=189|url-status=dead}}</ref> In New Mexico, the main distribution follows the [[Rio Grande]] and the [[Pecos River]], two waterways that run in a north–south direction through the state.<ref name="Degenhardt">{{cite book|last=Degenhardt|first=William G. |title=Amphibians and reptiles of New Mexico|year=1996|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|isbn=0-8263-1695-6|page=100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-Liq4O4udsC&q=painted+turtle&pg=PA100|author2=Painter, Charles W. |author3=Price, Andrew H. |access-date=2011-01-03|quote= ... extreme Northern Chihuahua, Mexico.}}</ref> Within the aforementioned rivers, it is also found in the northern part of [[Trans-Pecos|Far West Texas]].<ref name="Dixon">{{cite book |last=Dixon |first=James Ray |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-sNcnJoQMD4C&q="painted+turtle"&pg=PA196 |title=Amphibians and reptiles of Texas |date=2000 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-0-89096-920-5 |page=196 |access-date=2011-01-14}}</ref> In Utah, the painted turtle lives in an area to the south ([[Kane County, Utah|Kane County]]) in streams draining into the Colorado River, although it is disputed if they are native.<ref name=Stebbins/><ref name=UDNR>{{cite web|last=Dotson|first=P.|title=Painted turtle|url=http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=chrypict|publisher=Utah Department of Natural Resources|access-date=2011-02-11|archive-date=2012-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310194449/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Display.asp?FlNm=chrypict|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="UTDNR GAP">{{cite web|title=Utah GAP analysis – painted turtle|url=http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Map.asp?Id=671|publisher=Utah Department of Natural Resources|access-date=2011-02-11|archive-date=2012-03-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310194458/http://dwrcdc.nr.utah.gov/rsgis2/search/Map.asp?Id=671|url-status=dead}}</ref> In Arizona, the painted turtle is native to an area in the east, [[Lyman Reservoir|Lyman Lake]].<ref name="Arizona2007">{{cite web | url = http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/edits/documents/Chrypibe.d.pdf | title = Arizona game and fish department | date = 2007-02-22 | publisher = Unpublished abstract compiled and edited by the Heritage Data Management System, Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101230030657/http://www.azgfd.gov/w%5Fc/edits/documents/Chrypibe.d.pdf | archive-date = 2010-12-30 }}</ref><ref name="AGFD map">{{cite web|title=''Chrysemys picta belli'' occurrences in Arizona|url=http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/edits/images/chrypibe.GIF|publisher=Arizona Game and Fish Department|access-date=2011-02-11|date=2007-07-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320222812/http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/edits/images/chrypibe.GIF|archive-date=2011-03-20|url-status=dead}}</ref> The painted turtle is not native to Nevada or California.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Stebbins/>

In Mexico,<ref name="Degenhardt" /> painted turtles have been found about 50 miles south of New Mexico near [[Galeana, Chihuahua|Galeana]] in the state of [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]]. There, two expeditions<ref name="Smith and Taylor" /><ref name="Tanner1987-07" /> found the turtles in the [[Santa Maria River (Chihuahua)|Rio Santa Maria]] which is in a [[Endorheic basin|closed basin]].{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=185}}<ref name=Stebbins>{{cite book | last1 = Stebbins | first1 = Robert C. | last2 = Peterson | first2 = Roger Tory | title = A field guide to western reptiles and amphibians (Peterson field guide) | publisher = Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | date = 2003 | location = New York | pages = 251–252 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9JznHN2VFzkC&q=rio+santa+maria+chrysemys+picta&pg=PT105 | access-date = 2011-01-08 | isbn = 978-0-395-98272-3 }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

====Human-introduced range====

Pet releases are starting to establish the painted turtle outside its native range. It has been introduced into waterways near [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]], Arizona,<ref name="Arizona2007" /> and to Germany, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Spain.{{sfn|Rhodin et al.|2010|p=000.99}}

===Habitat===

[[File:PaintedHabitat Marchand.jpg|thumb|right|250px|alt=An open pond|Painted turtle habitat in New Hampshire]]

To thrive, painted turtles need fresh waters with soft bottoms, basking sites, and [[Aquatic plant|aquatic vegetation]]. They find their homes in shallow waters with slow-moving currents, such as creeks, marshes, ponds, and the shores of lakes. The subspecies have evolved different habitat preferences.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|1989|p=202}}

*The '''eastern painted turtle''' is very aquatic, leaving the immediate vicinity of its water body only when forced by drought to migrate.{{sfn|Carr|1952|p=217}} Along the Atlantic, painted turtles have appeared in [[brackish]] waters. They can be found in wetland areas like swamps and marshes with a thick layer of mud as well as sandy bottoms with lots of vegetation.<ref>Marchand, K. A., Somers, C. M., & Poulin, R. G. (2019). Spatial ecology and multi-scale habitat selection by western painted turtles (chrysemys picta bellii) in an urban area. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 132(2), 108-119. doi:10.22621/cfn.v132i2.2036</ref>{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|1989|p=202}} Areas with warmer climates have higher relative densities among populations and habitat desirability also influences density.<ref>Valenzuela, N., Literman, R., Neuwald, J. L., Mizoguchi, B., Iverson, J. B., Riley, J. L., & Litzgus, J. D. (2019). Extreme thermal fluctuations from climate change unexpectedly accelerate demographic collapse of vertebrates with temperature-dependent sex determination. ''Scientific reports'', ''9''(1), 4254.</ref>
*The '''midland''' and '''southern painted turtles''' seek especially quiet waters, usually shores and coves. They favor shallows that contain dense vegetation and have an unusual toleration of pollution.{{sfn|Carr|1952|p=226}}{{sfn|Carr|1952|p=231}}
*The '''western painted turtle''' lives in streams and lakes, similar to the other painted turtles, but also inhabits pasture ponds and roadside pools. It is found as high as {{convert|1800|m|ft|abbr=on|-2}}.{{sfn|Carr|1952|p=221}}

===Population features===
[[File:Turtle marking.svg|thumb|upright|right|alt=two diagrams showing numbes on the outer segments of turtle shells. There are some notches and then corresponding numbered code.|Shell marking code]]

Within much of its range, the painted turtle is the most abundant turtle species. [[Population density|Population densities]] range from 10 to 840&nbsp;turtles per hectare (2.5 acres) of water surface. Warmer climates produce higher relative densities among populations, and habitat desirability also influences density. Rivers and large lakes have lower densities because only the shore is desirable habitat; the central, deep waters skew the surface-based estimates. Also, lake and river turtles have to make longer linear trips to access equivalent amounts of foraging space.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=294}}

Adults outnumber juveniles in most populations, but gauging the ratios is difficult because juveniles are harder to catch; with current sampling methods, estimates of [[Population pyramid|age distribution]] vary widely.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=295}} [[Mortality rate|Annual survival rate]] of painted turtles increases with age. The probability of a painted turtle surviving from the egg to its first birthday is only 19%. For females, the annual survival rate rises to 45% for juveniles and 95% for adults. The male survival rates follow a similar pattern, but are probably lower overall than females, as evidenced by the average male age being lower than that of the female.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=211}} Natural disasters can confound age distributions. For instance, a hurricane can destroy many nests in a region, resulting in fewer hatchlings the next year.{{sfn|Ernst|Lovich|2009|p=211}} Age distributions may also be skewed by migrations of adults.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=295}}

To understand painted turtle adult age distributions, researchers require reliable methods.<ref name="Gibbons1987">{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/1310589 |last=Gibbons |first=J. Whitfield |title=Why do turtles live so long |journal=BioScience |date=May 1987 |volume=37 |issue=4 |pages=262–269 |url=http://140.122.143.143/snake/%E8%84%8A%E6%A4%8E%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9/%E8%84%8A%E6%A4%8E%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9%E5%AD%B8%E8%AC%9B%E7%BE%A9%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E6%AA%94/9.%20why%20do%20turtles%20live%20so%20long.pdf |jstor=1310589 |author-link=J. Whitfield Gibbons |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120317030949/http://140.122.143.143/snake/%E8%84%8A%E6%A4%8E%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9/%E8%84%8A%E6%A4%8E%E5%8B%95%E7%89%A9%E5%AD%B8%E8%AC%9B%E7%BE%A9%E9%9B%BB%E5%AD%90%E6%AA%94/9.%20why%20do%20turtles%20live%20so%20long.pdf |archive-date=March 17, 2012 }}</ref> Turtles younger than four years (up to 12 years in some populations) can be aged based on "[[growth ring]]s" in their shells.<ref name="Zweifel">{{cite book |last=Zweifel|first=Richard George |title=Long-term ecological studies on a population of painted turtles, ''Chrysemys picta'', on Long Island, New York (American Museum Novitates no. 2952) |date=1989 |publisher=American Museum of Natural History |location=New York |url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5106/1/N2952.pdf |pages=18–20 |author-link=Richard G. Zweifel}}</ref> For older turtles, some attempts have been made to determine age based on size and shape of their shells or legs using [[mathematical model]]s, but this method is more uncertain.<ref name="Zweifel" /><ref name="Fowle">{{cite book |title=Highways and movement of wildlife: improving habitat connections and wildlife passageways across highway corridors. Proceedings of the transportation-related wildlife mortality seminar of the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration. Report FHWA-PD-96-041 |publisher=Florida Department of Transportation (Orlando) |chapter-url=http://www.icoet.net/downloads/96paper16.pdf |author=Fowle, Suzanne C. |chapter=Effects of roadkill mortality on the western painted turtle (''Chrysemys picta belli'') in the Mission valley, western Montana |editor=Evink, G. |editor2=Zeigler, D. |editor3=Garrett, P. |editor4=Berry, J |pages=205–223 |date=1996 |access-date=2011-07-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723152641/http://www.icoet.net/downloads/96paper16.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The most reliable method to study the long-lived turtles is to capture them, permanently mark their shells by notching with a drill, release the turtles, and then recapture them in later years.<ref name="Cagle1939">{{cite journal|last=Cagle |first=Fred R. |title=A system of marking turtles for future identification |journal=Copeia |date=1939-09-09 |volume=1939|issue=3 |pages=170–173 |quote=A system to be used in marking turtles must be permanent, since turtles have a long life span, must definitely identify each individual, must not handicap the turtle in any way, and should be simple and easy to use. |author-link=Fred R. Cagle |jstor=1436818| doi = 10.2307/1436818 }} {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name=Macartney>{{cite book|title=The western painted turtle in Kikomun Creek Provincial Park (report)|date=1985|author=Macartney, M.|author2=Gregory, P. T.}} as cited in {{cite web|title=Inventory methods for pond-breeding amphibians and painted turtle|url=https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/risc/pubs/tebiodiv/pond/baptml20-06.htm|publisher=Ministry of Environment, British Columbia|access-date=2017-10-06|at=3.1.3 Marking and identification|date=1998-03-18|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171006212321/https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hts/risc/pubs/tebiodiv/pond/baptml20-06.htm|archive-date=2017-10-06}}</ref> The longest-running study, in Michigan, has shown that painted turtles can live more than 55 years.<ref name="Zweifel" /><ref name="Congdon2003">{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/S0531-5565(03)00106-2 |author=Congdon, Justin D. |display-authors=4 |author2=Nagle, Roy D. |author3=Kinney, Owen M. |author4=van Loben Sels, Richard C. |author5=Quinter, Todd |author6=Tinkle, Donald W. |author6-link=Donald W. Tinkle |title=Testing hypotheses of aging in long-lived painted turtles (''Chrysemys picta'') |journal=Experimental Gerontology |date=2003 |volume=38 |issue=7 |pages=765–772 |url=http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/251.pdf |pmid=12855285 |s2cid=12556383 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726155606/http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/251.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-26 }}</ref>

Adult [[sex ratio]]s of painted turtle populations average around 1:1.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|pp=294–295}} Many populations are slightly male-heavy, but some are strongly female-imbalanced; one population in Ontario has a female to male ratio of 4:1.<ref name="sbaa.ca" /> Hatchling sex ratio [[temperature-dependent sex determination|varies based on egg temperature]]. During the middle third of incubation, temperatures of {{convert|23|–|27|C|F|abbr=on|0}} produce males, and anything above or below that, females.<ref name="wcsu.edu-Reproduction" /> It does not appear that females choose nesting sites to influence the sex of the hatchlings;{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=291}} within a population, nests will vary sufficiently to give both male and female-heavy broods.{{sfn|Ernst|Barbour|Lovich|1994|p=295}}