REPTILE AND AMPHIBIAN CONSERVATION BIOLOGY
THOMAS P. WILSON, PH.D.
Currently, my research interests are twofold. First, I have long been interested in the affects of landscape level changes on populations of amphibians and reptiles. Specifically, I have been conducting two long-term studies concerning the Spotted Turtle and Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake to determine their population viability and spatial ecology, and by blending restoration ecology with conservation genetics, I have designed a series of green-ways to study metapopulation dynamics. Second, my background in doing classical ecological analyses has developed my interest in designing new methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity and evaluating the statistical biases associated with sampling turtles in various aquatic habitats. To this end, I have collaborated with scientists at the Tennessee Aquarium so that professionals can move toward a standardization of ecological and environmental census techniques. The students working in my laboratory are using descriptive, comparative, and experimental studies to answer questions about the community ecology of riverine turtles in the Tennessee River Gorge.
Sample Grants/Projects
2003. The Lupton Renaissance Gift Fund has funded the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga $353,000.00 to work with the Tennessee Aquarium to establish a community based turtle conservation program. (T.P. Wilson Co-PI; with D. Collins and G. Benz of the Tennessee Aquarium)
2001. The Forest Preserve District of Will County Illinois has funded T.P. Wilson (PI) $22,000.00 for his research concerning the population genetics of Clemmys guttata at the western range limit.
Sample Publications
Akre, T.S.B., and T.P. Wilson. 2005. Alternative methods for sampling freshwater turtles in difficult habitats. Chapter 7: Alternative methods for sampling reptiles in difficult-to-sample-habitats. In M. Foster (ed.) Measuring and Monitoring Biological Diversity: Standard Methods for Reptiles. Smithsonian Institution Press. In Press.
Mauger, D, and T.P. Wilson. 2005. Resource defense polygyny in Sistrurus catenatus catenatus. Herpetological Review. In Press.
Wilson, T.P. 2004. Habitat Change Detection in an Isolated Population of Spotted Turtle in Northern Virginia: Concepts and Applications. Pgs 43- 52 In C.W. Swarth, W.M. Roosenburg, and E. Kivat (eds.) Proceedings of the Conference on the Conservation and Ecology of Turtles of the Mid-Atlantic Region: A Symposium.
Mauger, D, T.P. Wilson, and D. Stillwaugh Jr. 2002. Lessons Learned from translocating spotted turtles (Illinois). Ecological Restoration 20 (3): 224-225.
Wilson, T.P. 2000. Legislation and Conservation. Herpetological Review. 31(1):5-6.
