Groundwater overexploitation drives freshwater turtle declines in Doñana National Park

Groundwater overexploitation in Doñana National Park has driven significant declines in freshwater turtle populations over three decades. The Mediterranean pond turtle (Mauremys leprosa) and the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) have seen dramatic decreases in abundance—56.9% and 74.1%, respectively—and their distribution has contracted sharply, particularly for E. orbicularis. Both species are now concentrated in a shrinking subset of long-hydroperiod ponds, indicating severe loss of functional habitat at the landscape scale. The study used a snapshot resampling design with standardized fyke nets to survey the park's pond network in 1991–1994 and 2021–2024, quantifying abundance through capture–mark–recapture methods. These findings underscore that legal protection alone is insufficient without addressing basin-scale hydrological pressures. Urgent reductions in groundwater withdrawal, restoration of the pond network, and hydrologically explicit monitoring are necessary to reverse these declines and prevent local extinctions.

de Felipe, M., Colorado-Pedrero, L., Keller, C., Serrano, L., Andreu, A. C., Arribas, R., Ramírez-Soto, M., & Díaz-Paniagua, C. (2026). Groundwater overexploitation drives freshwater turtle declines in Doñana National Park. Biological Conservation, 315, 111730. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2026.111730