CheloniaCast

Modeling The Turtle World

On episode 28 of CheloniaCast Ken and Michael sit down with ecologist Dr. Luca Luiselli of Rivers State University and Roma Tre University and Pearson McGovern of the African Chelonian Institute to discuss turtle conservation in West Africa and using mathematical models to make predictions about turtle populations. The discussion ranges from what it was like to discover the Nubian Flapshell in South Sudan and Uganda, use of Lotka-Volterra models to understand turtle population dynamics, Kinixys conservation, and what it is like to do conservation work in Africa. 
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Student Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast - 100% of proceeds from donations to the CheloniaCast Fund go towards enhancing turtle conservation programs. 
 
You can learn more about Dr. Luiselli’s work at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luca-Luiselli
You can learn more about Pearson’s work at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pearson-Mcgovern
Learn more about the African Chelonian Institute at: https://africanchelonian.org/
 
Follow the CheloniaCast Podcast on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast 
 
Host social media (Instagram/Facebook) - Jason Wills (@chelonian.carter) / Michael Skibsted (@michael.skibstedd) / Jack Thompson (@jack_reptile_naturalist_302) / Ken Wang (@americanmamushi)

Turtle Mysteries in the Northeast

On Episode 27 of CheloniaCast Ken, Michael, and Jack sit down with Dr. Michael Graziano, Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Bridgewater State University, to talk about the turtles of the northeastern United States. The conversation ranges from stories from working with Blanding's Turtles in the field, spotted turtle ecology and biology, and urban turtle ecology.
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and student research fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
 
You can follow along with Dr. Graziano's work at @mikeygraz on Instagram
 
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast
 
Host Socials (Instagram) - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @american.mamushi

Australian Turtles Vol. 2

On Episode 26 of CheloniaCast Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with renowned herpetologist and author John Cann and Terence Rogers to talk about Australia’s vibrant chelonian fauna. The discussion covers many different topics, ranging from startling events in New Guinea, the ecology of the Pig-Nosed Turtle, hybridization of Cann’s Long-Necked Turtle, trips across Australia in pursuit of turtles, diving with salties, and what it was like to compile (the book) Freshwater Turtles of Australia.
John Cann and Ross Sadlier wrote multiple editions of Freshwater Turtles of Australia, the latest (2017) edition of which can be found here - https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7770/
Terence Rogers can be found on Instagram @turtaliaa
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and research fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Follow us on Instagram @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @american.mamushi

The Turtles of Cambodia

On Episode 25 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Christel Griffioen, Deputy Country Director at Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity, and Sitha Som of the Wildlife Conservation Society Cambodia to talk about the conservation and biology of Cambodia's turtles and tortoises. The discussion ranges from the status and process of searching for giant softshells in situ, what it is like to work with Batagur both in the wild and in captivity, the current status of the Yellow-Headed Temple Turtle, and strategies for successful conservation programs.
You can learn more about the Angkor Center for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB) here: http://www.accb-cambodia.org/en/index.php
Click here to learn more about WCS Cambodia: https://cambodia.wcs.org/
To learn more about Sitha's research: https://explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org/sitha-som
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast Student Research Fund and podcast at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast - all proceeds from donations go directly back into turtle conservation
Follow us on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast
Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

The Confluence of Herpetoculture and Adventure

On Episode 24 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with John Seyjagat to discuss his adventures and experiences working with turtles. John is currently the Executive Director of the Zoological Association of America and is a former Curator of Australian Exhibits at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. John has traveled the world in order to better understand how to best keep chelonians in captive settings and to learn about their natural history in situ. The discussion ranges from forays in the Guianas with Dr. Peter Pritchard, best practices for keeping Australian chelids, adventures in the wildlands of the Northern Territory, flying planes in pursuit of turtles, and much more.
 
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast Podcast and Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast / proceeds from the Research Fund go directly back to supporting turtle conservation and research projects with an emphasis on student lead work
 
You can learn more about John and the Zoological Association of America (ZAA) at: https://zaa.org/
 
Follow us on Instagram @cheloniacast
 
Host socials: Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

So Many Turtles, So Little Time

On Episode 23 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with the Wildlife Conservation Society's Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises Coordinator Dr. Brian Horne to discuss his role in turtle conservation and helping to assess the conservation status of various chelonians. The conversation ranges from conservation ethics, the status of understudied species like the Black Marsh Turtle, what it is like to work with turtles in many different countries, the differences between embryonic aestivation and diapause, as well as many other interesting topics.
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast Student Research Fund and CheloniaCast Podcast at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
 
Learn more about Brian's work here: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=we2IAfUAAAAJ&hl=en and here: https://global.wcs.org/Resources/Staff/ProjectId/1039.aspx
 
Follow us on social media at cheloniacast on Instagram and Facebook
 
Host socials (Instagram/FB) - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Why Turtles Matter

On Episode 22 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, Ken, and Wyatt sit down with Dr. Whit Gibbons and Meg Hoyle to discuss why turtles matter in context of the ecosystem as a whole. The discussion ranges from stories from the field with North American turtles and sea turtles, research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, turtles as seed dispersers and bioturbators, and adventures in pursuit of Diamondback Terrapins.
 
You can learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and CheloniaCast Research Fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast and access the show through your preferred podcast provider at cheloniacast.podbean.com (now on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Spotify, and more)
 
You can learn more about Dr. Gibbons' work at https://whitgibbons.com/
You can learn more about Meg Hoyle and her company Botany Bay Ecotours at https://www.botanybayecotours.com/about-us/
 
Follow CheloniaCast on Instagram @cheloniacast Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi / Wyatt Keil - @wyatts_wildlife_photography

The Mata Mata Turtle

On episode 21 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Lucas Maia and Chelid expert Scott Thomson to discuss the evolution, morphology, and diversification of the Mata-Mata. Lucas is currently working at the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) and Scott is a researcher at the Museum of Zoology of the University of Sao Paulo and Centro de Estudos dos Quelonios da Amazonia. Both speak about research they are currently conducting on this species, related to observed morphological variability in the genus Chelus and what this means. A detailed overview of Mata-Mata natural history, evolution, taxonomy, and paleontology is provided.
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and CheloniaCast research fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
 
Access the show through your preferred podcast provider at this link: https://cheloniacast.podbean.com/
 
Guest Socials - @lukedumao on Instagram / Lucas Maia on Facebook Scott Thomson on Facebook
 
Host Socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Talking Turtles of the Amazon

On episode 20 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, and Jack sit down with Dr. Camila Ferrara and Scott Thomson to discuss the ecology of Amazonian turtles. The discussion ranges from nesting habits and niche separation between the South American River Turtles, what it is like to witness a Giant South American River Turtle arribada, the phylogenetics of Rhinemys, and how turtles communicate.
Learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast and CheloniaCast student research fund at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast
Learn more about Dr. Ferrara's work at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...
Learn more about Scott Thomson's work at: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...
Folow us on Instagram @cheloniacast Host socials - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang - @americanmamushi

Anatomy, Evolution, and Taxonomy of the Chelidae

On Episode 19 of CheloniaCast Jason, Michael, Jack, and Ken sit down with Scott Thomson to discuss his work with chelonians with a focus on the anatomy and diversification of the turtles within the family Chelidae. Scott is a world renowned herpetologist well known for his work on chelonian paleontology and taxonomy. The discussion ranges from the anatomical differences among Chelid turtles, the use of some analytical methods to describe species and their potential limitations, biogeography and dispersal of the Chelidae, the difference between taxonomy and systematics, among other topics.
Please excuse the poor audio quality from 6-12 minutes. Audio quality improves after 13:00.
 
Guest social media - Scott Thomson on Facebook You can find Scott’s work at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/...
 
Learn more about the CheloniaCast podcast at theturtleroom.org/cheloniacast Find us on Instagram/Facebook @cheloniacast
 
Host socials (Instagram) - Jason Wills - @chelonian.carter / Michael Skibsted - @michael.skibstedd / Jack Thompson - @jack_reptile_naturalist_302 / Ken Wang @americanmamushi