Jeffrey E Lovich, Ph.D.
As a Scientist Emeritus, Dr. Jeff Lovich is interested in the interactions of animals and their physical environment. His research focuses on the ecology of turtles and tortoises and the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development (wind and solar) on wildlife, particularly in the Desert Southwest USA.
Research interests
Jeff has studied the ecology and systematics of turtles and other animals for over 30 years, discovering and naming four of the world’s 356 turtle species, including three in the United States and one in Japan. Other interests include the ecological impacts of invasive species, the ecology and distribution of relict species, and the impacts of human activities (including wind and solar energy development) on wildlife and ecological patterns and processes in the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts.
Books
- Turtles of the United States and Canada (Smithsonian Institution Press, 1994)
- Biological Diversity: Problems and Challenges (Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 1994)
- The State of the Colorado River Ecosystem in the Grand Canyon (U.S. Geological Survey, 2005)
- Turtles of the United States and Canada, Second Edition (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009)
- Turtles of the World (Princeton University Press, 2021)
Professional Experience
Center Director - USGS, Western Ecological Research Center
Chief - USGS, Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center
Education and Certifications
B.S. (1982) and M.S. degrees (1984) Biology, George Mason University
Ph.D. (1990) Ecology, University of Georgia, Institute of Ecology
Affiliations and Memberships*
Member IUCN (World Conservation Union), Species Survival Commission, Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group
Honors and Awards
Recipient of the Behler Turtle Conservation Award, 2024
Fulbright Senior Specialist Award 2008 Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakech, Morocco
Elected Fellow of The Linnean Society of London, the world's oldest active biological society
Science and Products
The Gemini Solar Project
Desert Tortoise Ecology and Renewable Energy Development
Turtle Ecology
Desert Tortoise Ecology
The state of the Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon: A report of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center 1991-2004 The state of the Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon: A report of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center 1991-2004
Preliminary observations of the behavior of male, flat-tailed horned lizards before and after an off-highway vehicle race in California Preliminary observations of the behavior of male, flat-tailed horned lizards before and after an off-highway vehicle race in California
Turtles Turtles
Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard
Graptemys ernsti, Escambia map turtle Graptemys ernsti, Escambia map turtle
Turtles of the United States and Canada Turtles of the United States and Canada
The validity of Chinemys megacephala (Testudines: Batagurinae) The validity of Chinemys megacephala (Testudines: Batagurinae)
Science and Products
The Gemini Solar Project
Desert Tortoise Ecology and Renewable Energy Development
Turtle Ecology
Desert Tortoise Ecology
The state of the Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon: A report of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center 1991-2004 The state of the Colorado River ecosystem in Grand Canyon: A report of the Grand Canyon Monitoring and Research Center 1991-2004
Preliminary observations of the behavior of male, flat-tailed horned lizards before and after an off-highway vehicle race in California Preliminary observations of the behavior of male, flat-tailed horned lizards before and after an off-highway vehicle race in California
Turtles Turtles
Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizard
Graptemys ernsti, Escambia map turtle Graptemys ernsti, Escambia map turtle
Turtles of the United States and Canada Turtles of the United States and Canada
The validity of Chinemys megacephala (Testudines: Batagurinae) The validity of Chinemys megacephala (Testudines: Batagurinae)
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government