Dr. Thane Wibbels

Professor, Reproductive Biology

My research interests center on the biology and conservation of reptiles with an emphasis on temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD).The research that my students and I are conducting is multidisciplinary and includes field research with conservation programs for marine turtles, as well as laboratory studies on the molecular physiology underlying TSD.

In regards to marine turtle conservation, we work with sea turtles and with the diamondback terrapin, a turtle that inhabits bays and salt marshes. We are currently studying the biology of the diamondback terrapin and developing a recovery strategy for this depleted species in Alabama. This includes the evaluation of a head start program for the terrapin. We are also collaborating with a variety of state, federal, and international agencies on conservation programs for sea turtles. In these studies we are generating long-term databases for nesting beach temperatures that affect TSD, and we are evaluating hatchling sex ratios resulting from TSD. This includes studies of the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle in Mexico and the loggerhead sea turtle in the southeastern U.S. We are also evaluating optimal methods for assuring the survival of hatchlings on the main nesting beach of the Kemp’s ridley at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico.

- Assessing the Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the DiAssessing the Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on the Diamondback Terrapin: a Top Carnivore and Keystone Species in the Salt Marshes of Alabama (Year One Block Grant - The Alabama Marine Environmental Science Consortium, Role: Principal Investigator)