Research 

Behavioral syndromes, sometimes called behavior types or animal "personality," are correlated suites of repeated behaviors across time or context.  This concept is familiar to humans, but why do we continue to see persistent animal behavior types in nature, even when they may not be advantageous? In this section of my dissertation work, I seek to quantify behavior type in a free-ranging population of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) to understand how behavioral syndromes may predict other important aspects of this animal's life history, such as nest site choice.

Collaborators: Claudia Crowther, Fredric Janzen

While animals across taxa display behavioral syndromes, it is largely unknown how the expression of repeated behaviors may influence fitness and survivorship in the wild. Using hatchlings collected from wild eggs, I tested for behavioral repeatability across conditions in the laboratory and performed a mark-release-recapture experiment in the field to assess hatchling painted turtle survival during dispersal. Results from this work will help us understand what behavioral repeatability looks like across time and how it might impact fitness during a crucial life stage.

Collaborators: Claudia Crowther, Alex Sills, Fredric Janzen

The physiology of stress is well-studied across the animal kingdom. However, less is known about how physiological stress may mediate behavioral syndrome expression. To begin exploring the potential proximate drivers of behavior type, I collected blood samples across a variety of behavioral assays. Using these samples from turtles, I plan to explore stress physiology, the epigenetics of behavior, aging, and relatedness.

Collaborators: Anne Bronikowski

For painted turtles, the temperature of the nest environment determines offspring fitness, morphology, emergence time, and sex ratio. With increasing climate change, ambient air temperature, and consequently, turtle nest temperature will rise. In this project, we manipulate the incubation temperature of C. picta eggs collected in the field to simulate projected climate change and evaluate hatchling morphology and fitness changes. 

Collaborators: Claudia Crowther, Fredric Janzen 

Painted turtles are aptly named for the bright red, orange, yellow, and black patterns on their skin and shell. Yet, little is known about the function of color or pattern in this species. In this project, we use lifelike turtle hatchling models to quantify how shell patterns affect predation. 

Collaborators: Beth Reinke, Claudia Crowther 

Turtles are a globally imperiled taxon. Consequently, many conservation studies have explored ways to enhance turtle recruitment, starting with nests. One tactic proven helpful in reducing nest predation is predator misinformation cues. This project evaluates the efficacy of artificial nest deployment to reduce predation of real turtle nests by foraging mesopredators.  

Collaborators: Luke Hoekstra, Fredric Janzen