Jocelyn Stalker

Areas of expertise: spatial ecology, herpetology

Jocelyn was born and raised in Pennsylvania, but being cold-blooded like the lizards she studied in graduate school, she moved to warmer temperatures as soon as she could and has enjoyed the natural beauty and biodiversity of the Southeast. Taxonomically, her career trajectory resembles the niche of a longnose gar: broad! She studied freshwater stream fish and Appalachian songbirds as an undergraduate, conducted long-term river monitoring research after graduation, then went on to study southwestern herpetofauna as a graduate student, with her master’s thesis focusing on the spatial ecology of the Gila monster. She enjoys the flexibility her position with the Conservation Institute affords her, and when she isn’t making maps, she eagerly participates in any and all field work and dabbles in animal husbandry. Her favorite part of field work is finding herps (herpetofauna; reptiles and amphibians) and getting the fish people excited about them!

Best hike I’ve ever done: Mt. Charleston, Nevada

Favorite video game: Subnautica

PIT tag location: left forearm

Education:

M.S. 2022, Austin Peay State University (Biology)

B.S. 2018, Furman University (Biology, Sustainability Science)

Selected publications:

Hromada, S.J., J.L. Jones, J.B. Stalker, D.A. Wood, A.G. Vandergast, C.R. Tracy, C.M. Gienger, and K.E. Nussear. In preparation. Future habitat for Gila monsters in the Mojave Desert is limited by climate and dispersal. Target journal: Ecology and Evolution.

Stalker, J.B., J.L. Jones, S.J. Hromada, K.E. Nussear, A.G. Vandergast, D.A. Wood, C.R. Tracy, and C.M. Gienger. In review. Livin’ la vida local: philopatry results in consistent patterns of annual space use in a long-lived lizard. Journal of Zoology.

Stalker, J.B., C.J. Hughes, J.S. Gorrell, and C.M. Gienger. (Accepted). Pseudotriton ruber (Red Salamander). Nesting. Herpetological Review.

Hughes, C.J., J.B. Stalker, J.L. Jones, and C.M. Gienger. 2021. Heloderma suspectum (Gila Monster). Hibernation. Herpetological Review 52:858.