Editing Spotted turtle (section)

==Notes==
[[File:Clemmys guttata - Buffalo Zoo.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A spotted turtle standing on covered in aquatic vegetation. The turtle is viewed from the top left and is facing left.|On a log among aquatic vegetation]]
The spots on spotted turtles vary greatly throughout their range. They can have up to a hundred spots, while some have no spots at all. Spotted turtles shed their [[scute]]s in small pieces occasionally resulting in completely smooth shelled specimens. These are very intelligent turtles and have been tested like the [[wood turtle]]s in mazes and have been proven to have the brain capacity of a mouse. These turtles are only active in the cooler spring months. The spotted turtle is declining throughout eastern North America due to habitat loss and poaching. One study focused specifically on the Southeastern population, and recorded that females had greater shell heights, heavier body masses, and longer plastrons than males.<ref name="LitMous2004">{{cite journal|last1=Litzgus|first1=Jacqueline|last2=Mousseau|first2=Timothy|year=2004 |title=Demography of A Southern Population of the Spotted Turtle (''Clemmys guttata'')|journal=Southeastern Naturalist|volume=3|issue=3|pages=391–400|doi=10.1656/1528-7092(2004)003[0391:DOASPO]2.0.CO;2|jstor=3878068|s2cid=86185987 }}</ref> In another study, where radio-telemetry was used, spotted turtle behavior was observed in northeastern America, where distinct seasonal movement patterns revealed that spotted turtles exhibited a positive association in wetlands hosting abundant [[wood frog]] egg masses in spring and from spring to late summer, a negative association in forested wetlands was detected.<ref name="BDHMaine"/> Spotted turtles require frequent terrestrial movements for their diverse habitat requirements which exposes them to potential threats including unsustainable sources of adult mortality such as road kill and illegal collection.<ref name="BDHMaine"/> Recovery action is necessary to prevent decline of spotted turtles since this species has been determined to have a high risk of extinction in several areas ranging from South Carolina up to Maine in the US and even further north into Ontario, Canada, mitigation requires spatial and temporal shifts in habitat use.<ref name="BDHMaine"/>