Danna Hinderle
Research Interests My interest in ecological issues has been developed and cultivated throughout my life. I have always been curious of the world around me, and particularly interested in environmental conservation. Over the past twelve years, I have explored many facets of biology through my vocation as a field biologist, and have always enjoyed the challenges and rewards of this career path.
Since 2001, I have spent the majority of my career as a desert tortoise biologist. During this time I have become increasingly aware of, and concerned with the varied impacts upon this species’ ability to survive and thrive in an increasingly degraded and impacted environment.
One such impact is the permanent loss of more than 90 km2 of tortoise habitat, as a result of the southern expansion of the Fort Irwin National Training Center near Barstow, California. This expansion project has been more than two decades in the making and more than 600 federally listed tortoises were relocated to nearby habitat in March of 2008.
There are multiple researchers and many projects associated with this immense translocation project. Some of the broader research categories are examining movement patterns, burrow selection, reproduction, genetics, disease and stress studies. There are great efforts being made to study the effects of translocating tortoises in the Western Mojave.
My specific project interest is to quantify the habitat preference of the adult desert tortoises, both before and after the translocation. By comparing parameters such as slope, soil type, cover type, and vegetation, I desire to identify trends in habitat selection.
The second component of my experiment is to conduct a homing study. Tortoises are increasingly moved across the landscape (resulting from development, for example), and it is not known the extent to which they will try to navigate towards home. Understanding this critical component to tortoise ecology will help to inform future translocation projects.
I hope to share my knowledge and enthusiasm about tortoises to promote in desert conservation and share in learning about this charismatic and threatened species.
Desert tortoise links:
http://deserttortoise.gov/
http://deserttortoise.org/
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/reptiles/desert_tortoise/index.html
Since 2001, I have spent the majority of my career as a desert tortoise biologist. During this time I have become increasingly aware of, and concerned with the varied impacts upon this species’ ability to survive and thrive in an increasingly degraded and impacted environment.
One such impact is the permanent loss of more than 90 km2 of tortoise habitat, as a result of the southern expansion of the Fort Irwin National Training Center near Barstow, California. This expansion project has been more than two decades in the making and more than 600 federally listed tortoises were relocated to nearby habitat in March of 2008.
There are multiple researchers and many projects associated with this immense translocation project. Some of the broader research categories are examining movement patterns, burrow selection, reproduction, genetics, disease and stress studies. There are great efforts being made to study the effects of translocating tortoises in the Western Mojave.
My specific project interest is to quantify the habitat preference of the adult desert tortoises, both before and after the translocation. By comparing parameters such as slope, soil type, cover type, and vegetation, I desire to identify trends in habitat selection.
The second component of my experiment is to conduct a homing study. Tortoises are increasingly moved across the landscape (resulting from development, for example), and it is not known the extent to which they will try to navigate towards home. Understanding this critical component to tortoise ecology will help to inform future translocation projects.
I hope to share my knowledge and enthusiasm about tortoises to promote in desert conservation and share in learning about this charismatic and threatened species.
Desert tortoise links:
http://deserttortoise.gov/
http://deserttortoise.org/
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/reptiles/desert_tortoise/index.html
