Ecology, Herpetology
Ph.D., University of Florida, 1985

Sheen Science Center
727-864-8497 (office), 727-864-8382 (Fax)
meylanpa@eckerd.edu

My research interests include the evolutionary history, ecology, and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles, especially turtles. Current research includes two sea turtle projects: an investigation of the ecology and migrations of sea turtles of Bocas del Toro Province, Panama (funded by the Wildlife Conservation Society) and the Bermuda Turtle Project which is a cooperative project with the Bermuda Aquarium and the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (http://www.cccturtle.org/bermuda/index2.htm). Closer to home, I work with Eckerd Students and especially the Eckerd Herpetology Club on studies of freshwater turtles of the Rainbow River, a spring near Dunnellon, Florida. Current paleontology and phylogeny of reptiles studies include a revision of three extinct side-necked turtle families with colleagues from the AmericanMuseum of Natural History in New York, a phylogenetic study of African side-necks with an Eckerd student, and studies of an extinct pig-nosed turtle and an extinct New World pond turtle. I am also editor of a book on the biology and conservation of Florida turtles which is scheduled to be published during 2006.

Courses offered:

Biodiversity-Botany, Biodiversity-Zoology, Vertebrate Biology, Ecology of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetology

Selected publications:

NEAR, T.J., P. A. MEYLAN AND H. B. SHAFFER. 2005. Assessing concordance of fossil calibration points in molecular clock studies: an example using turtles. American Naturalist. 165:137-146.

RUNYAN, A. L.*, AND P.A. MEYLAN. 2005. PIT tag retention in Trachemys and Pseudemys. Herpeological Review 36:45-47.

HUESTIS, D.L.* AND P.A. MEYLAN. 2004. The turtles of Rainbow Run: Observations on the genus Pseudemys. Southeastern Naturalist. 3:595-612.

GEIS, A., T.*, WIBBELS, B. PHILLIPS, Z. HILLIS-STAR, A. MEYLAN, P. MEYLAN, C. DIEZ AND R. VAN DAM. 2003. Predicted sex ratio of juvenile hawksbill seaturtles inhabiting BuckIslandReefNational Monument, U.S.VirginIslands. Journal of Herpetology 37:400-404.

PARMALEE, P.W., W.E. KLIPPEL, P.A. MEYLAN and J.A. HOLMAN. 2002. A late Miocene - early Pliocene population of Trachemys (Testudines: Emydidae) from east Tennessee. Annals of the CarnegieMuseum 71:233 239.

GAFFNEY, E.S., H. TONG and P.A. MEYLAN. 2002. Galianemys, a new side-necked turtle (Pelomedusoides: Bothremydidae) from the Later Cretaceous of Morocco. AmericanMuseum Novitates 3379:1 - 20.

MEYLAN, P.A., R.D. SCHULER* and P. MOLER. 2002. Spermatogenic cycle of the Florida softshell turtle, Apalone ferox. Copeia 2002:779-786.

T. N. ENGSTROM*, P. A. MEYLAN, and A. B. MEYLAN 2002. Origin of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in a tropical developmental habitat in Caribbean Panama. Animal Conservation. 5:125-133.

* Eckerd graduates who did part or all of this work while students at Eckerd.