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
A quantitative analysis of the state of knowledge of turtles of the United States and Canada
Assessing the state of knowledge of utility-scale wind energy development and operation on non-volant terrestrial and marine wildlife
Optimal egg size in a suboptimal environment: reproductive ecology of female Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in central Arizona, USA
A history of herpetologists and herpetology in the U.S. Department of the Interior
Clutch and egg allometry of the turtle Mauremys leprosa (Chelonia: Geoemydidae) from a polluted peri-urban river in west-central Morocco
Nesting ecology of a population of Gopherus agassizii at a utility-scale wind energy facility in southern California
Removal of nonnative slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) and effects on native Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) at Montezuma Well, Yavapai County, Arizona
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise). Burrow collapse
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) and Crotalus ruber (red diamond rattlesnake). Burrow co-occupancy
Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise). Non-native seed dispersal
Wildlife conservation and solar energy development in the Desert Southwest, United States
Long-term post-fire effects on spatial ecology and reproductive output of female Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California, USA
Science and Products
A quantitative analysis of the state of knowledge of turtles of the United States and Canada
Assessing the state of knowledge of utility-scale wind energy development and operation on non-volant terrestrial and marine wildlife
Optimal egg size in a suboptimal environment: reproductive ecology of female Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) in central Arizona, USA
A history of herpetologists and herpetology in the U.S. Department of the Interior
Clutch and egg allometry of the turtle Mauremys leprosa (Chelonia: Geoemydidae) from a polluted peri-urban river in west-central Morocco
Nesting ecology of a population of Gopherus agassizii at a utility-scale wind energy facility in southern California
Removal of nonnative slider turtles (Trachemys scripta) and effects on native Sonora mud turtles (Kinosternon sonoriense) at Montezuma Well, Yavapai County, Arizona
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise). Burrow collapse
Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise) and Crotalus ruber (red diamond rattlesnake). Burrow co-occupancy
Gopherus agassizii (Desert Tortoise). Non-native seed dispersal
Wildlife conservation and solar energy development in the Desert Southwest, United States
Long-term post-fire effects on spatial ecology and reproductive output of female Agassiz’s desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) at a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California, USA
*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