About
138
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Introduction
My research broadly focuses on (1) understanding vertebrate life history and ecology and (2) using this information to guide conservation and management decisions. I also conduct species status surveys for rare reptile and amphibian species. For more info about past and ongoing research, visit www.willselman.com.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
June 2010 - July 2016
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Position
- Research Biologist and Research Coordinator
August 2005 - May 2010
Education
July 2004 - April 2010
August 1999 - May 2003
Publications
Publications (138)
Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus) are considered imperiled throughout most of their range. At the southwestern periphery of their range in northeastern Mississippi, USA, they are associated with Hartselle Sandstone outcrops. Because rock outcrop habitat is rare in the state and historical records for A. aeneus are few, we completed 180 visual surv...
The river turtles Graptemys nigrinoda (Black-knobbed Sawback) and G. pulchra (Alabama Map Turtle) are endemic to the Mobile River drainage of Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and northeastern Mississippi. Little is known of their current distribution and abundance in the Tombigbee River (TR) system in northeastern Mississippi even though both are bei...
The Ringed Sawback (Graptemys oculifera) and the Pearl Map Turtle (G. pearlensis) are riverine turtles that are endemic to the Pearl River drainage of central Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana USA. Graptemys oculifera is listed as Threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and G. pearlensis was also recently proposed for Threatened stat...
New county record reported for an introduced population of G. ouachitensis into the Tombigbee River system.
This note describes an agonistic encounter between two species of freshwater turtle (Graptemys pulchra & Sternotherus peltifer) from the Noxubee River, MS.
The following report contains two separate sections that detail research activities performed in central Mississippi for Rana areolata (Crawfish Frog) and northeastern Mississippi for Pseudacris brachyphona (Mountain Chorus Frog).
Rana areolata ---
From February to March 2023 and January to March 2024, 37 participants conducted 1902 auditory surve...
Understanding the geographical range of a species is essential to successful conservation and management, but their ranges are not always fully known. Ringed Map Turtles (Graptemys oculifera) have been federally listed as a Threatened species since 1986, and they have long been considered endemic to the Pearl River system of central Mississippi and...
The map turtles and sawbacks (Graptemys) sort by female head width into narrow-headed (microcephalic) females of 5 species that eat few mollusks, moderately broad-headed (mesocephalic) females of 4 species that eat moderately high amounts of mollusks, and broad-headed (megacephalic) females of 5 species that eat mollusks almost exclusively. The mic...
This report contains two separate sections that detail research activities performed in central Mississippi for Rana areolata (Crawfish Frog) and northeastern Mississippi for Pseudacris brachyphona (Mountain Chorus Frog).
Between the months February and March 2023, 21 participants conducted 951 auditory surveys at 581 locations within central Miss...
Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus), Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga), Spring Salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), and Eastern Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) all occur at the southwestern periphery of their ranges in northeastern Mississippi. Conducting status surveys for all four salamander species is listed as a “high” priority...
Tropical cyclones (i.e. tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes) and other extreme weather events directly impacting Louisiana from 2016-21 were examined to determine their effects on adult Reddish Egrets equipped with satellite transmitters in SE (n ¼ 11) and SW (n ¼ 14) Louisiana. Fourteen tropical cyclones (six hurricanes, five tro...
This is a report on the apparent scavenging of nestling birds and bird eggs where a M. terrapin population co-occurs with a large colony of nesting waterbirds.
This note details a large chorus of R. areolata from central Mississippi that could be heard from ~2.95 km away.
Graptemys nigrinoda (Black-knobbed Sawback) and G. pulchra (Alabama Map Turtle) are endemic to the Mobile River drainage of Alabama, northwestern Georgia, and northeastern Mississippi. In Mississippi, both species are listed as state imperiled, and both are currently petitioned for Federal listing, yet little is known of their current status. The o...
Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus), Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga), Spring
Salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), and Eastern Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus
alleganiensis) all occur at the southwestern periphery of their ranges in northeastern
Mississippi. Conducting status surveys for all four salamander species is listed as a “high” priority...
This article adds two new county records to the distribution of Hyla squirrella (Squirrel Treefrog) in Mississippi. These records are also the farthest north vouchered specimens for the state.
This natural history note details nocturnal foraging observations of Pseudemys concinna (River Cooter) in northeastern Mississippi. This is the first observation of activity for this species during nocturnal hours.
The reproductive output of Malaclemys terrapin (Diamond-backed Terrapin) is highly variable across its geographic range. While much of the literature is based on populations from the Atlantic coast of the United States, little reproductive-output data exists for the Gulf of Mexico populations. We captured female Diamond-backed Terrapins in southwes...
Twenty-eight new herpetological county records are described from a spring 2020 Millsaps College herpetology class assignment. This assignment occurred during the spring of 2020, when the COVID pandemic occurred.
The loss of natural habitats associated with urbanization is increasing, and natural areas may serve as refuges for wildlife in urban areas. In central Mississippi, one such area is LeFleur’s Bluff State Park (LBSP, ~120 ha), located primarily in the floodplain of the Pearl River but also surrounded by highly developed areas of Jackson, Mississippi...
Comparative studies of mortality in the wild are necessary to understand the evolution of aging; yet, ectothermic tetrapods are underrepresented in this comparative landscape, despite their suitability for testing evolutionary hypotheses. We present a study of aging rates and longevity across wild tetrapod ectotherms, using data from 107 population...
This note provides information on the most southerly record for Pseudacris brachyphona (Mountain Chorus Frog; aka, P. collinsorum) in Alabama.
The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) is considered a species of conservation concern throughout its range, primarily due to high rates of coastal land loss at key nesting locations. Nest and brood survival, causes and timing of nest failures, as well as nest site characteristics and site selection were studied for three breeding seasons (2016-2018...
Green Salamanders (Aneides aeneus), Cave Salamanders (Eurycea lucifuga), Spring Salamanders (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus), and Eastern Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) all occur at the southwestern periphery of their range in northeastern
Mississippi. Conducting status surveys for all four salamander species is listed as a “high” priority...
The timing of reproductive cycles in reptiles is often linked to environmental correlates, including
temperature and photoperiod. The Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a wide-ranging species that
occurs across multiple climatic regions over the eastern and Gulf coastal areas of the United States. Therefore,
the species may show variatio...
Graptemys oculifera (Ringed Sawback) and G. pearlensis (Pearl Map Turtle) are
riverine turtle species that are endemic to the Pearl River drainage of central Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. Sternotherus carinatus (Razorback Musk Turtle), another lotic turtle species, occurs in the Pearl River and most other large streams/rivers from east Te...
The conservation of species at the periphery of their ranges has been gaining increased attention. The northern map turtle (Graptemys geographica) is a wide-ranging species that is considered globally stable. However, some states/provinces may have only peripheral
populations of the species with either few existing populations or a small area occup...
Humans commonly move turtles and tortoises across geopolitical and geographic boundaries through food markets and the pet trade. One group commonly encountered in the pet trade is the genus Graptemys (map turtles and sawbacks). In the late 1980s, Graptemys
pseudogeographica (false map turtle) was documented outside of its native range in the Pearl...
The impacts of human modifications of rivers and associated riverine fauna are well documented, especially following the construction of impoundments. In the Pearl River system of Mississippi and Louisiana, 2 endemic Graptemys species are found (G. oculifera; G. pearlensis), but little is known of their densities in urban segments near Jackson, Mis...
The movement of nonindigenous aquatic species into new river systems has the potential to negatively impact native species and/or their environments. The construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (TTW) in the 1970s and 1980s directly linked 2 evolutionarily
distinct aquatic communities, and faunal exchange across the TTW has been documented...
It was just over 2 centuries ago that the first species of Graptemys (G. geographica) was described by the French naturalist Charles Alexandre LeSueur (1817; see also Lindeman 2009) under the “catch-all” turtle genus of the time, Testudo. The first use of the name Graptemys, applied by the Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz, came 4 decades lat...
New county record for Madison County, MS.
This natural history note explains novel basking structures used by Graptemys oculifera, a federally threatened species, in an urban stretch of the Pearl River.
Graptemys oculifera (Ringed Sawback) and G. pearlensis (Pearl Map Turtle) are both Pearl River drainage endemic species, while Sternotherus carinatus (Razorback Musk Turtle) occurs throughout most river systems in Louisiana. All three species are listed as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Louisiana. During May/June 2020, I documented the po...
Local ecological knowledge (LEK) collected via formal questionnaires and informal surveys can be a useful tool to aid in species conservation, particularly with species that are rare or difficult to detect. The alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) is a large aquatic turtle species that was heavily harvested by the commercial fishing i...
This natural history note explains the incidence of kyphosis and lordosis observed in several populations of Malaclemys terrapin in southwestern Louisiana.
Phenotypic variation within a species can be associated with genetic differentiation and varying environmental conditions among populations and their habitats. The relationship between environmental conditions and phenotype expression can influence evolutionary potential, possibly affecting rates of speciation or ecological character displacement....
Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) are an ecologically important species in salt marsh habitats, and they occur along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic coastlines of the United States. Terrapins are subjected to a myriad of threats including loss of coastal marsh/nesting habitat and differential adult mortality in fisheries bycatch. In L...
Aerial waterfowl surveys are conducted on major wintering areas to provide regional population indices and determine habitat use of
non-breeding waterfowl. Coastal Louisiana supports more than one quarter of the continental dabbling duck population during winter. Thus, considerable effort is allocated to monitoring waterfowl abundance in coastal Lo...
High harvest rates during the 1900s led to declines of Macrochelys temminckii (Alligator Snapping Turtle) throughout much of its range. Recent research to determine the status of Alligator Snapping Turtles has been completed in some regions of Louisiana, but information is lacking for the southwestern region of the state. To determine the distribut...
We present a review and analysis of the conservation status and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat categories of all 360 currently recognized species of extant and recently extinct turtles and tortoises (Order Testudines). Our analysis is based on the 2018 IUCN Red List status of 251 listed species, augmented by provisiona...
New county record for Acric gryllus from Hale County, Alabama.
New county record for Hyla avivoca from Hale County, Alabama.
New county record for Hemidactylus turcicus from Jones County, Mississippi.
New county record for Chrysemys dorsalis from Tishomingo County, Mississippi.
Much of the coastline in southwestern Louisiana is undergoing high rates of shoreline erosion, but long-term plans are to armor the majority of this shoreline with offshore rock breakwaters. This area is also considered critical wintering habitat for Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus). However, to date, little information is available to assess th...
Relatively little is known about the juvenile years of many turtle species, particularly the habitats used. Prior turtle studies found that juveniles use different habitats compared to adults, and therefore, juveniles are typically undersampled. Diamondback Terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) inhabit salt marsh, island, and mangrove habitats along much...
Two Graptemys species are endemic to the Pearl River system of Mississippi and Louisiana: Graptemys oculifera (Ringed Sawback) and Graptemys pearlensis (Pearl Map Turtle). I surveyed for both Graptemys species and other river turtle species during June and July 2017 and 2018 using spotting scopes and binoculars. Surveys occurred along five equidist...
The conservation of imperiled species often depends upon conserving their prey. Graptemys flavimaculata (Yellow-blotched Sawback) is an imperiled turtle endemic to the Pascagoula River system of Mississippi, USA. We investigated diet variability of G. flavimaculata relative to site geography, sex, seasons, and size. We captured individuals from May...
Malaclemys terrapin inhabits salt marshes of the coastal United States and has been historically divided into seven subspecies. Two of the described subspecies, M. t. pileata and M. t. littoralis, occur along the western and eastern coastlines of Louisiana, respectively. To better understand potential boundaries of these two subspecies, we document...
Eleven of 15 species of cranes (family: Gruidae) are considered vulnerable or endangered, and the increase of agriculture and aquaculture at the expense of natural wetlands and grasslands is a threat to Gruidae worldwide. A reintroduced population of Whooping Crane (Grus americana) was studied in coastal and agricultural wetlands of Louisiana and T...
Two Graptemys species (Map Turtles and Sawbacks) are endemic to the Pearl River system of Mississippi and Louisiana: Graptemys oculifera (Ringed Sawback) and Graptemys pearlensis (Pearl Map Turtle). Graptemys oculifera was designated as federally threatened in 1986, while G. pearlensis was recently petitioned in 2011 to be listed under the Endanger...
Hybridization between species that do not normally interbreed has increased due to human impacts on natural
environments, such as habitat alteration or introductions of nonnative species. In particular, the introduction of
Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) globally has led to hybridization with many duck species. In the southeastern United States, hybr...
Considerable difficulty has been associated with the taxonomy of the genus Graptemys (Map Turtles and Sawbacks) over the last 50 yr, likely attributable to the relatively recent divergence of lineages and morphological variation within species. One trait that has been inconsistently defined has been the costal scute pattern of Graptemys flavimacula...
Graptemys is one of the least studied turtle genera in North America. Graptemys oculifera (Ringed Sawback) and Graptemys pearlensis (Pearl Map Turtle) are endemic to the Pearl River system of Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. We studied both species near Columbia, Mississippi, on the Pearl River via a trapping and basking surveys over two yea...
Scincella lateralis (Little Brown Skink, hereafter Skink) are ubiquitous throughout the southeastern US and primarily nest in leaf litter on the forest floor. However, their presence in coastal marsh settings necessitates their use of alternate nesting habitats. We investigated Skink nesting ecology in Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator...
The Sabine Map Turtle (Graptemys sabinensis) inhabits the Sabine-Neches, Calcasieu, and Mermentau river drainages of southwestern Louisiana and east Texas. Sparse data in the literature mark it as having among the smallest body sizes and smallest clutch sizes among the 14 species of the genus Graptemys. All available data on life history originate...
Coastal Louisiana has suffered from dramatic coastal land loss. Following translocations to Louisiana in the late 1960s, Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) colonies were annually surveyed between 1971 and 2010 using aerial methods. The goals of this study were to describe long-term Brown Pelican colony dynamics, investigate physical changes to...
Graptemys oculifera is endemic to the Pearl River drainage system in Louisiana and Mississippi, and due to this limited range it is vulnerable to environmental changes. Many impacts to this drainage system are due to anthropogenic activities, and alterations may negatively impact the connectivity among populations of G. oculifera. Previous studies...
Graptemys gibbonsi Lovich and McCoy (Pascagoula Map Turtle) is one of the most poorly understood turtle species in North America. Following the description of the species in 1992, little formal research has been conducted on the species other than population survey work. From 2005 to 2008, we conducted ecological studies on G. gibbonsi throughout t...
American Oystercatchers (Haemato-pus palliatus) and Reddish Egrets (Egretta rufescens) are coastal species of conservation concern known to nest along most of the Gulf of Mexico's coastline. However, there is a distributional gap in breeding records for both species between southeastern Louisiana and eastern Texas. Herein, we report on the first br...
Cheniers are ancient beach ridges in southwestern Louisiana that are often characterized by coastal forest surrounded by marshland. Coastal chenier forests (CCFs) are considered an imperiled habitat in Louisiana because many forest remnants are considerably impacted due to human activities and recent hurricanes. Because little is known about the he...
Previous population genetic studies of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) have typically focused on either the entire range or relatively small spatial scales. The Louisiana coastline contains vast salt marshes suitable for terrapins; however, two major freshwater
inputs (Atchafalaya River and Mississippi River Deltas) break up the seeming...
The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a brackish-water turtle ranging from Texas to Massachusetts, as well as an isolated population on the island of Bermuda. Louisiana likely holds the most available habitat of any other state for the species (over 650,000 ha of brackish and salt marshes), yet little is known about terrapin distributio...
Turtles within the genus Graptemys are increasingly becoming a group of conservation priority due to (1) the number of species endemic to single Gulf of Mexico rivers and (2) human alterations of riverine habitat. The yellow-blotched sawback (Graptemys flavimaculata) is a federally threatened species that is endemic to the Pascagoula River system o...
