CheloniaCast

Turtle Health

Wyatt, Michael, and Ken sit down with professor emeritus of zoological medicine at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Elliott Jacobson, to discuss a variety of topics related to turtle and tortoise health, infectious disease, and treatment. The conversation ranges from what it is like to research Testudine Intranuclear Coccidiosis and a variety of other infectious diseases, studying sea turtle diseases, adventures in the Mojave Desert to learn more about Testudine Mycoplasmosis, and many other adventures and stories. Advice for those interested in pursuing veterinary school, in general and specializing in exotic species, is scattered throughout the podcast.
To learn more about Dr. Jacobson's research visit: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elliott-Jacobson
To learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and CheloniaCast Student Research Fund visit: theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Instagram/Facebook/Twitter @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Wyatt Keil - @wyatts_wildlife_photography / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Turtle Communication

Michael, Wyatt, and Ken sit down with Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen, a PhD student at the University of Zurich, to discuss the evolution and characteristics of turtle communication. The discussion touches on implications of turtle vocalizations in the choanate tree of life, the types of sounds turtles make and how they produce them, the ways in which turtles use vocalizations to communicate, and where the current mysteries in the field of turtle vocalization and communication exist.
You can learn more about Gabriel's work here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Gabriel-Jorgewich-Cohen and access his most recent publication "Common evolutionary origin of acoustic communication in choanate vertebrates" here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/364720919_Common_evolutionary_origin_of_acoustic_communication_in_choanate_vertebrates
For anyone interested in turtle communication, Gabriel is happy to answer questions and can be reached here: gabriel.jorgewichcohen@pim.uzh.ch
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills is @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted is @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson is @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang is @americanmamushi / Wyatt Keil is @wyatts_wildlife_photography

How the Turtle Got its Shell

Michael, Jack, and Wyatt sit down with Dr. Tyler Lyson, Associate Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, to discuss the origin, evolution, and purpose of the turtle shell and body plan. Topics covered include early stem turtle biology and anatomy, the dilemma associated with the phylogenetic position of turtles with respect to other amniotes, how turtles breathe, and what it is like to work with fossil chelonians.
 
Learn more about Dr. Lyson's work at: https://www.dmns.org/science/earth-sciences/staff/tyler-lyson/
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Student Research Fund at: https://theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast/
 
Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter @cheloniacast
 
Host social media - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi / Wyatt Keil - @wyatts_wildlife_photography

Turtle Medicine, Treatment, and Surgery Vol. 1

Jack, Michael, Ken, and Wyatt sit down with Dr. Pete Koplos, owner and veterinarian at the El Paso Animal Emergency and Veterinary Specialty Center, to discuss his veterinary experience with turtles and tortoises. Topics discussed include pathology and treatment of Testudine Intranuclear Coccidiosis (TINC), aspects of Testudine Herpesviruses, antibiotic use in turtle and tortoise treatment, how to prevent diseases from occurring in captive colonies, and interesting surgery cases. Dr. Koplos provides many accounts related to his clinical experience that can be useful to those with captive turtles and tortoises.
You can learn more about the El Paso Animal Emergency and Veterinary Specialty Center here: https://www.epanimalemergency.com/
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Student Research Fund here: https://theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast/
Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Wyatt Keil - @wyatts_wildlife_photography / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Passion for Snapping Turtles

Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Rusty Reed the Turtle Man to talk about his passion and work with Alligator Snapping Turtles. Rusty has dedicated many days and nights to sharing the incredible world of the Alligator Snapping Turtle with people across the United States, and is curator of the Blackwater Turtle Refuge. This is an inspiring conversation filled with interesting bits of knowledge and many stories from Rusty's travels. The conversation touches on Rusty's ongoing Alligator Snapping Turtle Life and Development Documentation Study, what it was like to visit commerical trapper Al Redmond's facilities and what he learned about snapping turtles there, driving around the United States with Crunch the Alligator Snapping Turtle, showing a contestant on the bachelor the beauty of snapping turtles, and much more.
You can learn more about Rusty's work at the Blackwater Turtle Refuge at: http://www.crunchinfo.com/?fbclid=IwAR0Tvyuvosh8j9HD0X8k0m39_YUzEpGqyb3smg3F63esbYcaw1Kmmo8nEqI
Keep up with Rusty Reed the Turtle Man's many adventures on his Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/rustyreedtheturtleman/
Find Rusty Reed the Turtle Man on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/rustyreedtheturtleman/
Learn more about the CheloniaCast and CheloniaCast Student Research Fund at: theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Follow us on Facebook/Instagram @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Turtle Conservation Genetics and Research with Dr. Natalia Gallego-García

Cheloniacast sits down with Dr. Natalia Gallego-García, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Southern California Los Angeles, to discuss her work investigating population and conservation genetics of different species of turtle and tortoise. Topics such as what it is like to work in the field with the Magdalena River Turtle, temperature-dependent sex determination variation and how this impacts conservation, common mistakes in conducting experiments and next generation technology for analyzing genetic questions, and Dahl's Toad-Headed Turtle ecology are discussed.
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and CheloniaCast Student Research Fund at: https://theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast/
Help support student led research on turtles and tortoises by contributing to the CheloniaCast Student Research Fund at: https://theturtleroom.org/project/cheloniacast-podcast/
Follow us @cheloniacast on Instagram and Facebook
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

A Lifetime Full of Turtles with Dr. Anders Rhodin

Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Dr. Anders Rhodin to discuss his adventures in pursuit of turtles and his research focused on Testudines. Dr. Rhodin is a retired orthopedic surgeon that has had a lifelong passion for turtles and tortoises. He is the Founder and Director of the Chelonian Research Foundation, Founding Editor and Publisher of the journal Chelonian Conservation and Biology and the monograph series Chelonian Research Monographs, and has served as both Chair and Co-Chair of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group. The conversation ranges from challenges in implementing and assessing aspects of chelonian conservation, stories from traveling in pursuit of turtles and working in various museum collections, and vascularization of Leatherback Sea Turtle limbs.
 
You can learn more about the Chelonian Research Foundation here: https://chelonian.org/
Access Chelonian Conservation and Biology here: https://chelonian.org/ccb/ Or through BioOne Digital Library here: https://bioone.org/journals/chelonian-conservation-and-biology
Access Chelonian Research Monographs here: https://chelonian.org/crm/
Learn more about the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group here: https://iucn-tftsg.org/pub-chron/
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Consider making a donation to the CheloniaCast Podcast Student Research Fund here: https://theturtleroom.org/project/cheloniacast-podcast/
All donations go toward furthering turtle and tortoise research and conservation. You can make a difference for turtles by listening to the show.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @cheloniacast
Host Instagram - Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd

Island Hopping for Turtles with Cris Hagen

CheloniaCast returns after a spring semester hiatus. Jack, Michael, Ken, and Jason sit down with Cris Hagen, Director of Animal Management at the Turtle Survival Alliance’s Turtle Conservation Center and accomplished explorer, to discuss his many adventures in pursuit of Testudines. Cris has traveled extensively throughout the world to conduct research on turtles and tortoises. The conversation ranges from Cris’ experience working with Hawksbill Sea Turtles in the Hawaiian Islands to getting caught under gunfire while traveling in Asia in pursuit of Side-Necked Turtles.
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and CheloniaCast Student Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
 
All donations to the CheloniaCast Student Research Fund support turtle research and conservation directly and are greatly appreciated.
 
You can learn more about the Turtle Survival Alliance here: https://turtlesurvival.org/
 
You can learn more about the Turtle Survival Center here: https://turtlesurvival.org/pages/turt...
 
Follow CheloniaCast on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast

Rainbow Run

On the season one finale of CheloniaCast, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Dr. Peter Meylan, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Eckerd College, to discuss his past, and present, turtle research and adventures in the field. The discussion ranges from what it is like to work with specimens at the American Museum of Natural History, softshell and side-neck turtle phylogenetics, trips to Mexico in pursuit of turtles, the experience of overseeing the amalgamation of the volume Biology and Conservation of Florida Turtles, and what it is like to run a long-term freshwater turtle population survey in Florida. This episode also incorporates segments with Dr. Peter Scott, Assistant Professor of Biology at Eckerd College, focused on his work with Desert Tortoises recently published in the journal Science, and the current taxonomic arrangement of the Pseudemys complex. A segment with Gabe Weikert, president of the Eckerd College Herpetology Club, focuses on the student perspective at the Rainbow Run turtle surveys, and what it is like to organize such an event.
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Student Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
You can learn more about Dr. Meylan's research here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Peter-Meylan
You can learn more about Dr. Scott's research here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=e_5GppEAAAAJ&hl=en
Follow Gabe Weikert on Instagram/Facebook @gabeweik
Learn more about Eckerd College here: https://www.eckerd.edu/
Follow CheloniaCast on Instagram/Facebook @CheloniaCast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

North American Turtle Research

In Episode 29 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, and Ken sit down with Eric Munscher. Eric is a researcher with SWCA Environmental Consultants as well as co-founder of the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG). A variety of topics pertaining to North American turtle research are covered, including turtle ecology in various spring systems, growth rates of various species of turtle, turtle movements, upcoming NAFTRG projects in Belize, and much more.
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Student Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
 
You can learn more about Eric's work at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eric-Munscher
You can learn more about the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group (NAFTRG), and ways you can get involved with this group here: https://turtlesurvival.org/pages/united-states
 
Follow CheloniaCast on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast
 
Host social media - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi