Projects

Terrapene ornata ornata is also know as the ornate box turtle and the western box turtle. The ornate box turtles has long existed in grassland habitats, including parts of Colorado. Although some of these turtles live in Colorado, there is still little research on box turtles in Colorado. Our lab aims to measure the homerange of the box turtles at the Pueblo Chemical Depot as a way to understand how box turtles utilize their Colorado homeland in comparison to other midwestern regions.

Research team: Ellen Norton, Juan Moreno, Maribel Sena

Contributors: Marie Gomez, Jenna Morales

We are quantifying a number of different parameters of turtle and tortoise immune systems.

1. Memory responses to immunization in desert tortoises - with a focus on quantifying antibody production, antibody affinity, and presence/absence of memory cells after one or two immunizations.

2. Phagocytosis by white blood cells in both tortoises and ornate box turtles across seasons and in vitro temperature regimes.

Research team: Kiara Olson, Ben Highfill, Catie Jackson, Summer Slama, Mariah Painter, Maxwell Sheedy

Aspidoscelis neotesselata is a native species that is only found in a small area of southern Colorado! In addition, it is a parthenogenetic, or all female, species that reproduces asexually! We are working on mapping populations throughout Pueblo county and are studying the effects of urban environments on the health and survival. If you would like to help our project, visit this form, to enter data and a photo of these lizards on your property! https://forms.gle/BrQJ4h7GueCb7mw67

Research team: Brianna Fong

Contributors: Luke Futey, Ben Highfill