Caroline Honan

Southeastern Louisiana University · Department of Biological Sciences

Preliminary research on injury patterns present in herpetofauna

Research involving injuries generally focuses on the cause and effect without noting injury location. Asymmetrical injury distributions have been used as a proxy for cerebral lateralization, turning behavior biases, and intraspecific conflict versus predation rates. To investigate trends in distributions of injuries in herpetofauna, we examined mus...

Speed talk explaining injury distribution and rates in herpetofauna and possible causes.

Polydactyly found in female specimen of Agama agama

Injury distribution is analyzed in several different species and a cluster analysis is preformed to look at similarities between injury location. The phenogram created was then compared to a widely accepted phylogeny.

Senior thesis investigating the correlation between body condition and injury in the wood turtle (glyptemys insculpta). There was not a significant correlation between body condition and injury frequency or severity, but interesting patterns in injury emerged. Turtles were significantly more likely to get injured on their right than their left.

The wood turtle is an endangered species of semiaquatic turtle found through out New England. With increased exposure to agriculture and human development, it is likely that wood turtles will have increased injury rates. In this study, I wanted to look at whether injuries and injury severity had an impact on body condition. Data was collected by Un...