Betsie B. Rothermel, Ph.D.
Director of Herpetology & Restoration Ecology, Associate Research Biologist
Current research interests:
- Population biology, behavioral ecology, and natural history of amphibians and reptiles
- Disturbance dynamics and community ecology of seasonal wetlands
- Restoration of agriculturally impacted wetlands and fire-suppressed sandhill
Recent Publications:
- Castellón TD, Rothermel BB, Beck JL, Fort JL, O’Connor KM (2022) Divergent size-class distributions of Gopher Tortoise burrows in scrub and flatwoods habitats of peninsular Florida. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 21:112-121 [doi: 10.2744/CCB-1523.1]
- Kominoski JS, Fernandez M, Breault P, Sclater V, Rothermel BB (2021) Fire severity and post-fire hydrology drive nutrient cycling and plant community recovery in intermittent wetlands. Ecosystems 25:265-278 [doi:10.1007/s10021-021-00653-5]
- Castellón TD, Anderson CD, Rothermel BB, Beck JL (2020) Differential effects of elevation and microtopography on Gopher Tortoise burrow distributions in southern Florida. Copeia 108:140-150 [doi:10.1643/CH-19-228]
- Howell HJ+, Rothermel BB+, White KN, Searcy CA (2019) Gopher Tortoise demographic responses to a novel disturbance regime. Journal of Wildlife Management 84:56-65 [doi:10.1002/jwmg.21774] +joint first authors
- Yuan ML, White KN, Rothermel BB, Zamudio KR, Tuberville TD (2019) Close kin mating, but not inbred parents, reduces hatching rates and offspring quality in a threatened tortoise. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 32:1152-1162 [doi:10.1111/jeb.13518]