Undergraduate student researcher Kevin Green was recently awarded funding from the Texas Herpetological Society’s Grants-in-Herpetology program. His proposed research, titled “Understanding the distribution and negative effects of recently established invasive Hemidactylus from south Texas,” involves examining the diet and parasites of three non-native species of geckos established in the Rio Grande Valley. He will make trips to the region in spring and fall 2025 to collect samples and continue to better describe the distribution of these species.
Congratulations Kevin!
Jake Kuschel graduated in December 2024 with a degree in Experimental Biology (Zoology) from Michigan State University. As an undergraduate, he worked in a research lab conducting behavioral and physiological experiments involving snakes (
Zoe Hutcherson has previously been working in the Davis Herpetology Lab as an undergraduate student and graduated with a double major in both Biology and Forensic Science from ENMU in December 2024. Recently, Zoe has been working on summarizing the distribution of the non-native Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) across New Mexico.
Zoe Hutcherson recently won 3rd place in the student poster competition at the New Mexico Research Symposium (hosted by the New Mexico Academy of Science and NM EPSCoR) held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on 19 October! Her poster was titled “Range expansion of the non-native Mediterranean Gecko (Hemidactylus turcicus) across New Mexico and West Texas.” This follows a recent award at the NM Alliance for Minority Participation. Congratulations on another success Zoe!
Additionally, Sebastian Summo Elias was just awarded an ENMU Graduate Student Research Award funds to support research projects. These funds will be used to screen additional snake samples for Snake Fungal Disease.
The Davis Herpetology Lab has been awarded funding from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife to conduct surveys for four imperiled species of turtles in Indiana: River Cooter (Pseudemys concinna), False Map Turtle (Graptemys pseudogeographica), Smooth Softshell (Apalone mutica), and Eastern Mud Turtle (Kinosternon subrubrum). There has been little focused research on these species in the state, limiting the ability to make informed management decisions. These surveys will occur from 2025–2027 across southwestern Indiana and support graduate thesis research. Recent data suggests that some of these species occur across a greater range than previously expected, and visual surveys and hoop-net trapping will help to better understand the current range of these species in the region.
The lower Rio Grande and Pecos River of the southwest United States have been heavily modified by human activities, profoundly impacting the integrity of their aquatic wildlife. In this context, we focused our study on the population genomics of the Rio Grande Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi), a freshwater turtle of increasing conservation concern, residing in these two rivers and their tributaries. The genetic data revealed two distinct populations: one in the Pecos and Black Rivers of New Mexico and another in the Rio Grande and Devils River of Texas, with admixed individuals identified at the confluence of the Rio Grande and Pecos River. In addition to having a smaller geographic range, we found lower observed heterozygosity, reduced nucleotide diversity, and a smaller effective population size (Ne) in New Mexico population. Our results depict a significant isolation-by-distance pattern across their distribution, with migration being notably infrequent at river confluences. These findings are pivotal for future conservation and restoration strategies, emphasizing the need to recognize the unique needs of each population.
Sebastian was awarded a Howard McCarley Student Research Award from the Southwestern Association of Naturalists (SWAN) for his 
Kevin was awarded funding from Midwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (MWPARC) through their Fueling Student Field Experiences Travel Grant titled “Examining the Current Distribution of the Invasive Common Wall Lizard (Podarcis muralis) along the Ohio River.” This funding will help Kevin participate in a trip to survey for these non-native lizards this summer and collaborate with the Indiana DNR on this project.
The Moorish Gecko, Tarentola mauritanica, is a large species of gecko native to the Mediterranean Region of Europe and northern Africa. As with many other species of geckos, T. mauritanica has been introduced outside of its native range, often through jump dispersal and hitchhiking through the trade of commercial goods. Here, we summarize the occurrence of this species in the United States and present new data on an established population in Bexar County, Texas. Surveys conducted in 2022 and 2023 resulted in 59 vouchered specimens collected from 11 separate, distinct sites across the San Antonio metropolitan area. Photographic observations of this species in the area exist from 2018, and further support the widespread occurrence of this species in the region. Currently, T. mauritanica is known from three states in the USA (California, Florida, Texas), though it may soon spread into new areas. Future studies are needed to examine the ecological consequences of this non-native species.
Drew R. Davis, Ph.D. 