People

Dr. Kyle Barrett

Dr. Kyle Barrett is broadly interested in the environmental and biological factors that set the diversity, distribution, and abundance of organisms (ecology!). Most of his work focuses on how large scale stressors such as urbanization and climate change affect animals. Most recently he is exploring how stream-dwelling species respond to watershed development, approaches to finding and sampling rare species, and how to do long-range conservation planning for amphibians and reptiles in the face of climate change and development.

Josh Holbrook

Josh Holbrook (PhD student) has research interests in wetland community assemblages (especially amphibians and reptiles), what factors shape these assemblages and how that knowledge translates to conservation. He also gained an interest in invasive species while studying in Florida for his BS (Palm Beach Atlantic University) and MS (Florida Atlantic University). During his BS work in Biology, Josh was first author on the first peer-reviewed paper examining the effects of Burmese Pythons in southern Florida, and studied the effect of fish on wetland reptiles and amphibians in subtropical wetlands. Josh is also interested in citizen science particularly in harnessing the help of recreational field herpers for conservation initiatives, and to that end co-authored The Field Herping Guide with Mike Pingleton, co-founder of HerpMapper. When not in the field or the lab, Josh spends his time with his wife, Beka; and three children, Chava, Josephine, and Jonah; and grows dozens of varieties of fruit trees including figs and pomegranates.

Kevin Hutcheson

Kevin Hutcheson (MS student) has an interest in reptile and amphibian ecology and conservation with a special interest in Plethodontid salamanders. Kevin received his bachelor's from the University of Georgia in 2021. While there he used phylogenetic methods to determine the origin of a likely introduced population of Black-bellied Salamander which spurred an interest in biogeography. After graduating he went on to work for USGS, The Orianne Society, and Amphibian and Reptile Conservancy doing on-the-ground research and conservation on a variety of imperiled herp species. Now he hopes to continue that by using eDNA, genomic, and LiDAR data to help recover the federally listed Red Hills Salamander. In his free time Kevin enjoys being outdoors experiencing and photographing the biodiversity the world has to offer. He also enjoys listening to music and gardening with native pollinators.

Bryan Hudson

Bryan Hudon (PhD student) is broadly interested in reptile ecology and conservation. He received a BS in biology from Piedmont College where his honors thesis focused on the thermal biology of reproductive Timber Rattlesnakes in the Southern Appalachian Mountains of north Georgia. He completed an MS in biology from Georgia College and State University. His thesis focused on rare vertebrates along a series of unique low elevation rock outcrops. Over the years, Bryan has worked with the GA DNR on Bog Turtles and Green Salamanders, the Orianne Society on Timber Rattlesnakes, and Bibb County, GA on land assessments and conservation covenants. His research investigates how habitat management strategies and urbanization across multiple spatial scales can influence population trends and conservation planning for rare species and their associated habitats. His primary goals include evaluating the status of non-coastal Pine Snakes across the southern portion of their range, and helping agencies work with private landowners to create conservation corridors. In his free time, Bryan enjoys working with the GA DNR Ecoburners on prescribed fires, fishing, hunting, cooking, and trying new BBQ.

Hannah Meredith

Hannah Meredith (MS Student) is interested in reptile and amphibian ecology, particularly habitat characteristics, animal behavior, and species conservation.

She earned her bachelor's in environmental science at the University of South Carolina, where she researched sustainability in agriculture for her honor's thesis. She developed an interest in wildlife conservation and herpetology, which was solidified by her senior project studying habitat restoration for the Eastern hellbender. While taking classes, Hannah works as a chemist at the Clemson Agricultural Services Lab. She is continuing research from past student, Emma Rogers, by studying the effects of development on Eastern box turtle behavioral traits. She will also study the effectiveness of leveraging community scientists and novel technologies for data collection and outreach efforts for box turtle conservation.

Lab alumni

Robert Chamberlin (MS, 2025) evaluated the impacts of herbicides on the interactions among animal species. His thesis included a review of the effects of glyphosate and atrazine on interactions among a wide group of animals, as well as an experiment that measured the impacts of atrazine on interactions among fish, salamanders, and amphibians.

Emma Rogers (MS, 2024) studied the movement and resource selection of box turtles in the Clemson Experimental Forest and adjacent residential areas. Her work demonstrated that turtles move less and select for different resources in more developed areas relative to forests. Her thesis provides insights into how we can better manage our backyards for box turtles!

Megan Novak (PhD, 2023) focused on green salamanders in Upstate South Carolina. Her dissertation addressed questions at the population and landscape level that will directly shape conservation strategies for the species. Megan identified that factors from very small scales (e.g., individual crevices within a rock outcrop) to very large scales (e.g., the landscape across the species' range in SC) both shape population dynamics. Megan is currently a Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Clemson University.

Marion Clement (MS, 2020) studied the influence of developed areas on Barred Owls for her master's thesis. Marion's research helped us understand what features in urban areas promote the presence of barred owls, and she used GPS transmitters to better understand the fine scale movements of owls in forested and developed landscapes. She is currently Biologist with the US Fish and Wildlife Service working out of Colorado.

Nick Masto (MS, 2019) was advised in conjunction with Drs. Rick Kaminski and Beth Ross. Nick was a graduate research assistant with the James C. Kennedy Waterfowl and Wetlands Conservation Center, where he researched optimal aerial survey design for wintering waterfowl. His thesis also addressed the habitat associations of wintering waterfowl along the SC coast. Nick recently defended his PhD at Tennessee Tech University.

David Hutto (MS, 2018) researched the effects of urbanization on frog and toad communities. Specifically, David was interested in the conservation value of urban open spaces as it relates to amphibian communities. David is currently a keeper in Zoo Knoxville's Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Center.

Mike Knoerr (MS, 2018) focused on the conservation of bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) in western North Carolina. His thesis provided the most robust dataset available to date on bog turtle nesting success, and he used that information to build a population model for bog turtles that evaluated the influence of different management strategies on population growth rates. Mike works as a Wildlife Biologist with the US Forest Service.

Jill Newman (MS, 2017) provided the first resurvey for Green Salamanders in SC in over 20 years, and those data will enhance SC DNR's ability to manage and conserve the species. Jill also compared two different modeling techniques used to forecast the climate vulnerability of green salamanders. Jill is Herpetologist with the Department of Defense.

Nathan Weaver (MS, 2015) evaluated the influence neighborhood age had on stream systems in a rapidly developing portion of the Southern Blue Ridge Mountains. Nathan is working as a staff scientist at Geosyntec Consultants.

Bennie Johnson (MS, 2015) studied how different aquatic systems within an intensively managed pine landscape contribute to the occupancy and community structure of amphibians and reptiles, using multiple survey methods and taking a landscape approach. Bennie is currently a biologist for Collins Timber Company (CA).

Nikki Roach (MS, 2015) studied the influence climate change and urban development on marsh bird distributions in South Carolina. After earning her PhD in the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Science at Texas A&M University, Nikki took a job as a Conservation Coordinator for Amphibians and Reptiles at the Global Center for Species Survival.

Theresa Stratmann (MS, 2015) used bog turtles (Glyptemys muhlenbergii) as a case study for how we can resource efficiently locate and surveying for rare and elusive species. Theresa is currently a PhD student at Goethe University-Frankfurt in Germany.

Bill Sutton worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the lab from 2013 - 2014. His primary job was to help assess the vulnerability of Priority Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Areas in the Northeastern US. Bill is now an Associate Professor at Tennessee State University.

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