Jeffrey E Lovich, Ph.D.
As a Research Ecologist, Jeff is interested in the interactions of animals and their physical environment. Current research is focused on the ecology of turtles and tortoises and the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development (wind and solar) on wildlife, particularly in the Desert Southwest USA.
Research interests
Jeff has studied the ecology and systematics of turtles and other animals for over 30 years, discovering and naming four of the world’s 356 turtle species, including three in the United States and one in Japan. Other interests include the ecological impacts of invasive species, the ecology and distribution of relict species, and the impacts of human activities (including wind and solar energy development) on wildlife and ecological patterns and processes in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
Books
- Turtles of the United States and Canada (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994)
- Biological Diversity: Problems and Challenges (Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 1994)
- The State of the Colorado River Ecosystem in the Grand Canyon (U.S. Geological Survey, 2005)
- Turtles of the United States and Canada, Second Edition (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009)
- Turtles of the World (Princeton University Press, 2021)
Professional Experience
Center Director - USGS, Western Ecological Research Center
Chief - USGS, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
Education and Certifications
B.S. (1982) and M.S. degrees (1984) Biology, George Mason University
Ph.D. (1990) Ecology, University of Georgia, Institute of Ecology
Affiliations and Memberships*
Member IUCN (World Conservation Union), Species Survival Commission, Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
Honors and Awards
Recipient of the Behler Turtle Conservation Award, 2024
Fulbright Senior Specialist Award 2008 Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
Elected Fellow of The Linnean Society of London, the world's oldest active biological society
Science and Products
‘Unscrambling’ the drivers of egg production in Agassiz’s desert tortoise: Climate and individual attributes predict reproductive output
A watershed moment: Analysis of sub-basins refocuses the geography of turtle conservation across the globe
Micro-geographic variation in burrow use of Agassiz’s desert tortoises in the Sonoran Desert of California
Little has been published regarding the burrowing habits of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert of California. We monitored the interactions of tortoises with their burrows, and other tortoises, via radio-telemetry at two nearby sites between the Cottonwood and Orocopia Mountains, from 2015-2018. We examined how annual cycles of drought and non-drought years, beha
Refining genetic boundaries for Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the western Sonoran Desert: The influence of the Coachella Valley on gene flow among populations in southern California
Wind, sun, and wildlife: Do wind and solar energy development “short-circuit” conservation in the western United States?
Turtles and tortoises are in trouble
Turtle biogeography: Global regionalization and conservation priorities
Understanding reproductive allometry in turtles: A slippery “slope”
Impacts to wildlife of wind energy siting and operation in the United States
Establishing an Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise monitoring program within the Coachella Valley multiple species habitat conservation plan area: Final report to the Coachella Valley conservation commission on work performed near the Orocopia Mountains
An introduced breeding population of Chrysemys picta marginata in the Kaibab National Forest, northern Arizona
Where has turtle ecology been, and where is it going?
Science and Products
‘Unscrambling’ the drivers of egg production in Agassiz’s desert tortoise: Climate and individual attributes predict reproductive output
A watershed moment: Analysis of sub-basins refocuses the geography of turtle conservation across the globe
Micro-geographic variation in burrow use of Agassiz’s desert tortoises in the Sonoran Desert of California
Little has been published regarding the burrowing habits of Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert of California. We monitored the interactions of tortoises with their burrows, and other tortoises, via radio-telemetry at two nearby sites between the Cottonwood and Orocopia Mountains, from 2015-2018. We examined how annual cycles of drought and non-drought years, beha
Refining genetic boundaries for Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) in the western Sonoran Desert: The influence of the Coachella Valley on gene flow among populations in southern California
Wind, sun, and wildlife: Do wind and solar energy development “short-circuit” conservation in the western United States?
Turtles and tortoises are in trouble
Turtle biogeography: Global regionalization and conservation priorities
Understanding reproductive allometry in turtles: A slippery “slope”
Impacts to wildlife of wind energy siting and operation in the United States
Establishing an Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise monitoring program within the Coachella Valley multiple species habitat conservation plan area: Final report to the Coachella Valley conservation commission on work performed near the Orocopia Mountains
An introduced breeding population of Chrysemys picta marginata in the Kaibab National Forest, northern Arizona
Where has turtle ecology been, and where is it going?
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government