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Meagan L. Harless (MS, in progress) "An analysis of sampling methodology and home range estimation in the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, in the west Mojave Desert." |
Contact
Department of Earth and Biological Sciences
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, CA 92350 USA
Phone: (909) 558-4300, extension 48909 or (909) 558-4530
Fax: (909) 558-0259
Email: mharless@llu.edu
Tracking down her fleet-footed subjects. Meagan braves the intense desert heat as she uses a handheld telemetry system to locate the Desert Tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) that she is studying. The tortoise pictured here is a juvenile, representing hope for the future of these...okay...maybe not-so-fleet-footed creatures. Photographs: William K. Hayes (left) and Meagan Harless/USA-CERL Desert Tortoise Project (right).
Meagan is a native of northeastern Ohio with a strong affinity for wildlife ecology. After graduating from Hiram College with a degree in biology (focusing on herpetology) in 2001, Meagan traveled around the U.S. participating in numerous field research projects. She has worked on waterfowl, passerines, reptiles, and amphibians at Patuxent National Wildlife Research Center in Maryland; waterfowl and amphibians at Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the gorgeous upper peninsula of Michigan; waterfowl and shorebirds along the Missouri River in central Missouri; passerines in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina; Bobwhite Quail in western Tennessee; and currently with endangered desert tortoises in the west Mojave Desert of California.
Presently, Meagan is participating in a novel project with the U.S. Army Construction Engineering Research Laboratories (USA-CERL) in the west Mojave Desert at Ft. Irwin, near Barstow, California. The goal of the project is to study various aspects of the life history of the Desert Tortoise through radiotelemetry and the testing of a new automated telemetry system. Meagan's research will provide insight on how to define a tortoise's home range, how it may be best estimated, and usage within its home range. Her analyses will involve different home range estimators and sampling methodologies. Recovery and conservation efforts will benefit from the increased understanding of the landscape use patterns of desert tortoises.
To learn more details about her study, go to Research on Behavioral Ecology of Desert Tortoises (with photographs).
Rescued! Meagan pulls a tortoise out from beneath a vehicle. Each year, thousands of tortoises perish after being crushed by vehicles, both on highways and while off-roading. This tortoise simply sought the shade of a parked vehicle. Photograph: USA-CERL Desert Tortoise Project.
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Last Revised: Wed, Feb 14, 2007