Dr. Dawn Wilson joined the CBC Staff in July 2003 as Director of the Southwestern Research Station in Portal, Arizona. She manages day-to-day activities and oversees strategic planning and project development at the Station. Before coming to the Museum, Dawn served on the faculty of the Department of Biological Science in California State University in Chico, California, where she taught undergraduate herpetology and conducted research on the ecology of the Western Pond turtle (Clemmys marmorata). She received her Ph.D. in Biology in 1996 from University of South Florida in Tampa.

Representative Publications

Loper-Baxter, P.C., and D. S. Wilson.  In Press. The effects of nest date and placement of eggs in burrows on sex ratios and potential survival of hatchling desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii. Chelonian Conservation and Biology.

Cooper, W., and D. S. Wilson. In Press. Beyond optimal escape theory: Microhabitats as well as predation risk affect escape and refuge use by the phrynosomatid lizard Sceloporus virgatus. Behaviour.

Cooper, W., and D. S. Wilson. In Press. Sex and social costs of escaping in the striped plateau lizard, Sceloporus virgatus. Behavioral Ecology.

Lubcke, G. M., and D. S. Wilson. 2007. Variation in shell morphology of the western pond turtle (Actinemys marmorata Baird and Girard) from three aquatic habitats in northern California. Journal of Herpetology 41:107-114.

Wilson, D. S., C. R. Tracy, and C. R. Tracy. 2003. Estimating age of turtles from scute rings: a critical evaluation of the technique. Herpetologica 59:178-194.

Wilson, D. S., K. Nagy, C. R. Tracy, D. J. Morafka, and R. Yates. 2001. Water balance in neonate and juvenile desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii. Herpetological Monographs 15:158-170.

Karl, S. A., and D. S. Wilson. 2001. Phylogeography and systematics of the mud turtle, Kinosternon baurii. Copeia 2001:797-801.

Wilson, D. S., C. R. Tracy, K. Nagy, and D. J. Morafka. 1999. Physical and microhabitat characteristics of burrows used by juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii). Chelonian Conservation and Biology 3(3):448-453.

Wilson, D. S., H. R. Mushinsky, and E. D. McCoy. 1999. Nesting behavior of the striped mud turtle, Kinosternon baurii. Copeia 1999(4):958-968.

Wilson, D. S., D. J. Morafka, C. R. Tracy, and K. Nagy. 1999. Winter activity of juvenile desert tortoises (Gopherus agassizii) in the Mojave Desert. Journal of Herpetology 33(3):496-501.

Wilson, D. S. 1998. Nest-site selection: microhabitat variation and its effects on the survival of turtle embryos. Ecology 79(6):1884-1892.

Wilson, D. S. 1998. Patterns in publishing in three North American herpetological journals: gender biases. Herpetologica 54 (Suppl.): S35-S42.

Ewert, M. A., and D. S. Wilson. 1996. Seasonal variation of embryonic diapause in the striped mud turtle (Kinosternon baurii) and general considerations for conservation planning. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 2(1):43-54.

Mushinsky, H. R., D. S. Wilson and E. D. McCoy. 1994. Growth and sexual dimorphism of Gopherus polyphemus in central Florida. Herpetologica 50:119-128.

McCoy, E. D., H. R. Mushinsky and D. S. Wilson. 1993. Pattern in the compass orientation of gopher tortoise burrows at different spatial scales. Global Ecology and Biogeography Letters 3:33-40.

Wilson, D. S. 1991. Estimates of survival for juvenile gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus. Journal of Herpetology 25(3):376-379.