Robert Hamilton

Sternotherus odoratus

#Sternotherus doesn't get much love from turtle enthusiasts or fishermen, but stinkpots (musk turtles) are a valuable piece of the ecosystems in which they reside, as prey, as predators, and especially as scavengers. #turtles #wildlife #biology #conservation #fieldwork

It's important to be able to repatriate confiscated turtles, but without substantial contiguous tracts of protected habitat, it's moot. And as ecologically functional tracts become scarce islands surrounded by development, they also become obvious go-to spots for poachers. #conservation #turtles

Protographium marcellus

If you live in a temperate zone and like ecology, you should LOVE #Lepidoptera. Their vulnerability and accelerated evolutionary pace has allowed them to develop amazing traits and ecological relationships that you wouldn't expect to see outside of the tropics. #leps #ecology #evolution #biology

Chrysemys picta

When a species is common, it can be easy to take for granted it's intrinsic value and beauty. Eastern painted #turtles are both a perfect example and reminder that the best time to secure the future of a species is while they are still thriving. #wildlife #biology #conservation

Clemmys guttata (NC lowcountry) Female spotted turtle found nest-searching along a hot sand road

Spotted Turtles in the southeast are present (sometimes abundant), but notoriously tough to detect; the concentration of sympatrics can overwhelm traps, and the abundant food resources make for a narrower capture window in the spring. #wildlifebiology #clemmys #conservation #turtles

Plethodon welleri

As my first non-turtle post I present Weller's salamander: This rare species only exists at the tops of a few mountains in the central Appalachians, making it particularly vulnerable to a warming climate (they can't get any higher up). #climatechange #wildlifeconservation #salamanders #appalachians

Did you know eastern box #turtles are the current "hot item" being intercepted by U.S. customs? Smugglers for Asian markets are tireless in efforts to decimate North American turtle populations for "medicine". Added to the domestic threats to this species and we have a real problem. #conservation

Diamondback terrapins are a fascinating species with a rough history. Once over-trapped for meat, the only brackish-dwelling North American turtle is now under threat for more modern reasons: habitat loss, poaching, roadkill, and drowning in crab-pots. #DBT #wildlifebiology #turtles #conservation

They look like sliders and cooters, but chicken turtles are different altogether. This species specializes in disjunct seasonal ponds, and can spend MOST of the year out of water. Their thin shells allow them to travel on land more easily, but makes them vulnerable to predation. #turtles #wildlife

Here for #Pseudemys Saturday, is the northern red-bellied cooter. These huge basking turtles have highly variable coloration across most of their range, but our southern NJ redbellies have a striking appearance: a jet-black carapace and a flaming-red plastron. #turtles #wildlife #fieldwork #biology

This little fella is an eastern mud turtle. They aren't the sexiest turtle, but have a fascinating life history that hasn't been fully fleshed-out. They can be found in a wide swath of shallow coastal plain habitats; vernal pools, swamps, ditches, brackish marshes and more. #turtles #wildlifebiology

Idk how much content I'll be regularly generating, but yeah this is me for sure.

Thanks Mike! We've definitely interacted before back in the peak FHF days.

Hey everyone! My name is Bob Hamilton. I'm a conservation biologist, or wildlife ecologist or something. Here to collaborate with other conservationists (generally) and turtle biologists (specifically). #turtles #conservation #fieldwork #conservation #ecology #wildlifebiology