Red-Eared Slider

(Trachemys scripta elegans) 

The Red-Eared Slider is native from the Midwestern United States to northern Mexico, but has become established in other places due to pet releases.  Invasive Red-Eared Sliders cause negative impacts in the ecosystems they occupy because they have many advantages over the native species, such as a lower maturity age, higher fecundity rates and larger body size, which gives them a competitive advantage at basking and nesting sites, as well as when exploiting food resources.