Foundation Award for Research

I. Focus of Research

The Turtle Ecology Lab at Missouri State University conducts conservation-driven research on freshwater and terrestrial turtles, with an emphasis on long-lived, imperiled species such as Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) and Central American River Turtles (Dermatemys mawii), among others. Recent projects in my lab integrate field ecology, behavior, reproductive biology, and physiology to inform conservation management and reintroduction strategies. Current work includes extensive population surveys, telemetry-based studies of activity patterns and movement, investigations of nesting and reproductive cycles, and assessments of post-release performance of reintroduced individuals. My lab also explores functional morphology (e.g., bite performance, strike kinematics, shell kinesis) and endocrinology, and is expanding into stable isotope analyses to assess trophic structure of turtle communities. With ongoing collaborations in the U.S. and Belize, my lab prioritizes applied research that contributes directly to species recovery planning and habitat protection efforts.

II. Title and year of major projects

• Re-establishing Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) in Southern Oklahoma via Translocation (2007–2018)
• Return of Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) to the Rivers of Southeastern Kansas (2008–26)
• Statewide Survey for Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) in Oklahoma (2023–24)
• Daily and Seasonal Activity Patterns of the Critically Endangered Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) (2021–23)
• Sociality in a Putatively Asocial Reptile, the Central American River Turtle (Dermatemys mawii) (2020–23)
• Reproductive Cycles and Activity Patterns of Northern Giant Musk Turtles (Staurotypus triporcatus) (2023–24)

III. Future directions of research

• Statewide Survey for Alligator Snapping Turtles (Macrochelys temminckii) in Arkansas (2024–28)
• Population ecology and conservation of Central American River Turtles (Dermatemys mawii) in Belize (2019–ongoing)
• Community Ecology of Mud Turtles (Kinosternidae) On a Tropical Pine Savanna (in progress)
• Autecological Study of Furrowed Wood Turtles (Rhinoclemmys areolata) in Belize (in progress)
• Variation in Trophic Position of Alligator Snapping Turtles Across Diverse Ecoregions (2025–26)
• Movements and Space Use of Morelet’s Crocodiles Inhabiting Ephemeral Wetlands (2026)

IV. Topics related to your research and of interest to the broad University Community, for which you are available for presentations and/or consultations. 

• Adaptive management of threatened and endangered species
• Conservation of endangered and understudied turtle species, including reintroduction biology
• The role of physiology and behavior in shaping conservation strategies for long-lived vertebrates
• Tropical fieldwork and capacity building in Central America
• The challenges and ethics of managing captive populations for conservation
• Wildlife tracking and monitoring techniques (telemetry, mark-recapture, etc.)
• The importance of biodiversity and freshwater ecosystems in global environmental health
• Climate change and its implications for species with temperature-dependent development
• Climate change impacts in the Neotropics