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
Climate change and collapsing thermal niches of Mexican endemic reptiles
Gopherus Agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise). Nest Depredation
Graptemys pearlensis Ennen, Lovich, Kreiser, Selman, and Qualls 2010 – Pearl River Map Turtle
Aspects of the reproductive ecology of female turtles in New Mexico
Energy development
A potential predator-prey interaction of an American badger and an Agassiz's desert tortoise with a review of badger predation on turtles
Interdrainage morphological and genetic differentiation in the Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
Using climate, energy, and spatial-based hypotheses to interpret macroecological patterns of North America chelonians
A morphological review of subspecies of the Asian box turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Testudines, Geomydidae)
Measuring the impact of invasive species on popular culture: a case study based on toy turtles from Japan
Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). Mechanical Injury
Relationships of maternal body size and morphology with egg and clutch size in the diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin (Testudines: Emydidae)
Science and Products
Climate change and collapsing thermal niches of Mexican endemic reptiles
Gopherus Agassizii (Mohave Desert Tortoise). Nest Depredation
Graptemys pearlensis Ennen, Lovich, Kreiser, Selman, and Qualls 2010 – Pearl River Map Turtle
Aspects of the reproductive ecology of female turtles in New Mexico
Energy development
A potential predator-prey interaction of an American badger and an Agassiz's desert tortoise with a review of badger predation on turtles
Interdrainage morphological and genetic differentiation in the Escambia Map Turtle, Graptemys ernsti
Using climate, energy, and spatial-based hypotheses to interpret macroecological patterns of North America chelonians
A morphological review of subspecies of the Asian box turtle, Cuora amboinensis (Testudines, Geomydidae)
Measuring the impact of invasive species on popular culture: a case study based on toy turtles from Japan
Gopherus Agassizii (Agassiz’s Desert Tortoise). Mechanical Injury
Relationships of maternal body size and morphology with egg and clutch size in the diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin (Testudines: Emydidae)
*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