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
Biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles at the Camp Cady Wildlife Area, Mojave Desert, California and comparisons with other desert locations
Where have all the turtles gone, and why does it matter?
Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) activity areas are little changed after wind turbine-induced fires in California
Where have all the turtles gone, and why does it matter?
Against the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log
Spatial distribution of estuarine diamond-backed terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) and risk analysis from commercial blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) trapping at the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex, USA
Macroecological patterns of sexual size dimorphism in turtles of the world
Reproductive output and clutch phenology of female Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert region of Joshua Tree National Park
Taxonomy: A history of controversy and uncertainty
Global conservation status of turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)
Life history with emphasis on geographic variation
Science and Products
Biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles at the Camp Cady Wildlife Area, Mojave Desert, California and comparisons with other desert locations
Where have all the turtles gone, and why does it matter?
Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) activity areas are little changed after wind turbine-induced fires in California
Where have all the turtles gone, and why does it matter?
Against the current— The Mojave River from sink to source: The 2018 Desert Symposium field trip road log
Spatial distribution of estuarine diamond-backed terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) and risk analysis from commercial blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) trapping at the Savannah Coastal Refuges Complex, USA
Macroecological patterns of sexual size dimorphism in turtles of the world
Reproductive output and clutch phenology of female Agassiz's desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Sonoran Desert region of Joshua Tree National Park
Taxonomy: A history of controversy and uncertainty
Global conservation status of turtles and tortoises (order Testudines)
Life history with emphasis on geographic variation
*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