"they seem adapted for a long and rather uneventful, quiet life"
​— C. Kenneth Dodd Jr. 

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Evolution of Turtle Communities
Who doesn't love turtles? Turtles are charismatic and found all over the world.  Yet, we know very little about the characteristics that allow different species to co-exist. This is unfortunate because turtles are an ideal model organism to study evolutionary biology. This is because turtles are found all over the world, have an extensive fossil record, form communities of multiple interacting species, and we know the phylogenetic relationships among most turtle species. Today, evolutionary studies with turtles are impeded because we do not have a clear understanding of how morphological traits are related to adaptations in turtles. Which are critical in knowing how different species can co-exist and how communities evolve. My goal is to learn how morphology is related to adaptation, then use this information to understand how these adaptations influence the evolution of turtle communities. 
  
Photo on Left: Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima in Jalisco, Mexico.  

Ecology and Demography of the Mexican Spotted Wood Turtle (Rhinoclemmys rubida perixantha)
I began studying the Mexican spotted wood turtle in 2014 at the Estación de Biología in Chamela as part of my master's thesis. Since then, using radio telemetry, observations from unmarked individuals, and stable isotope analysis we have measured the home range, microhabitat use, activity patterns, and diet in R. r. perixantha. I also have been measuring and marking individuals since 2015. In collaboration with Daniel Beck and his undergraduate students at Central Washington University we continue to monitor this population and are now interested in how a recent hurricane (Hurricane Patricia) have influenced habitat use and population characteristics of this species.  The first publication describing the habitat use and activity patterns of this species is currently in press. The first year of this project was supported by the Rufford foundation (https://www.rufford.org/)

 Photo Above: Rhinoclemmys rubida in Jalisco, Mexico

Spatial Ecology of the Mexican Beaded Lizard (Heloderma horridum)
I spent the summers of 2012 and 2013 at the Estación de Biología Chamela on the Pacific Coast of Mexico tracking the charismatic Mexican Beaded Lizard using radio telemetry in it's tropical dry forest habitat. Although I was mainly assisting graduate students Kerry Holcomb (2012) and Jesús Oliván (2013) with their masters theses. I used these data to compare lizard home ranges between wet and dry seasons and found that home range size is significantly larger during the wet season.

Photo on Left: Heloderma horridum in Jalisco, Mexico    

Thermal Biology of the Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea​) 
As a STEP (science talent expansion program) student at Central Washington University I worked closely with Dr. Daniel Beck investigating the thermal biology of the Northern Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea). Using a laboratory thermal gradient we asked 1) do E. coerulea show a show a specific body temperature preference? 2) does preference change after feeding? and 3) does any tendency to either avoid or group-up with other individuals, influence body temperatures? We found that lizards prefer intermediate temperatures with means selected temperature = 25.2±2.9, temperature preference did not change after feeding but was less variable, and we found no evidence that grouping up with other lizards influenced body temperature. 

Photo Above: Elgaria coerulea in Washington State, USA