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John (J.D.) Willson
Savannah River Ecology Laboratory J.D. Willson recently completed his doctorate in Ecology at the University of Georgia and is currently a post-doctoral research associate at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). J.D. grew up in New England and has had a life-long passion for all aspects of the natural world. He received his B.S. from Davidson College (2002) where he studied the effects of land use on stream salamander populations. J.D.’s primary research interests involve understanding factors that drive population dynamics in reptiles and amphibians and he recently co-authored a book chapter on innovative methods for studying snake population ecology and conservation. His dissertation research used multidisciplinary techniques to examine the roles that snakes play as predators within ecosystems. As a post-doc at SREL, J. D. is continuing long-term monitoring of semi-aquatic snake population and community dynamics on the SRS and has begun a project evaluating the potential for exotic Burmese Pythons to survive in the South Carolina Coastal Plain. J.D. also currently serves as a section editor for snake natural history notes at Herpetological Review. In his spare time, J. D. enjoys a variety of nature-based hobbies including photography, herping, fishing, birding, hiking, and SCUBA/freediving. See J.D.'s CV for reprints of recent publications and his personal web page for photo galleries and descriptions of J.D.'s herping and fishing experiences. Current Research Projects: 1. Examining complex relationships between environmental stochasticity, prey availability, and aquatic snake demography, population dynamics, and community composition. Collaborators: Christ Winne, J. Whitfield Gibbons, and Melissa Pilgrim. 2. Evaluating the risk of invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus) in the Southeastern United States. Collaborators: Michael Dorcas, J. Whitfield Gibbons, USGS, National Park Service, University of Florida. 3. Using aquatic snakes as a case study for developing advanced mark-recapture techniques (robust-design analyses in program MARK) for monitoring secretive species. Collaborators: Chris Winne and Brian Todd. 4. Using stable isotopes to explore reproductive allocation strategies in an income breeding snake, Seminatrix pygaea. Collaborators: Chris Winne, Melissa Pilgrim, and Chris Romanek. 5. Using occupancy modeling (program PRESENCE) to monitor secretive aquatic snake species on a landscape scale. Collaborators: Andrew Durso and Chris Winne. |
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