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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
A radioed male tortoise in the Santa Rosa Mountains, CA eating a beavertail prickly pear cactus. During the extreme drought conditions we are experiencing, that is the only food available for them with any moisture. They have to cope with all the little spiny gloccids (hair-like spines) that cover the pads of the cactus. Video provided by Dr.
A radioed male tortoise in the Santa Rosa Mountains, CA eating a beavertail prickly pear cactus. During the extreme drought conditions we are experiencing, that is the only food available for them with any moisture. They have to cope with all the little spiny gloccids (hair-like spines) that cover the pads of the cactus. Video provided by Dr.
Dr. Rodrigo Macip with students, checking traps for mud turtles at Pátzcuaro lake, Michoacán, México. Dr. Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ.
Dr. Rodrigo Macip with students, checking traps for mud turtles at Pátzcuaro lake, Michoacán, México. Dr. Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ.
Dr Rodrigo Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is currently a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center's Flagstaff's campus.
Dr Rodrigo Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is currently a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center's Flagstaff's campus.
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle was recently observed by USGS scientists and staff from The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in the Mojave Desert. Turtles of this population have rarely been seen since the late 1990s.
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle was recently observed by USGS scientists and staff from The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in the Mojave Desert. Turtles of this population have rarely been seen since the late 1990s.
USGS Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich gets ready to release a male desert tortoise into its cave-like shelter in southern Joshua Tree National Park after collecting data. Photo by Shellie Puffer, USGS, SBSC.
USGS Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich gets ready to release a male desert tortoise into its cave-like shelter in southern Joshua Tree National Park after collecting data. Photo by Shellie Puffer, USGS, SBSC.
Salt-encrusted remains of a southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as found in the dry lake bed of Elizabeth Lake, Los Angeles County, California. Note the heavy coating of evaporites on the carcass. Most living turtles collected in 2014 had similar but varying degrees of coatings on the head, limbs and shell.
Salt-encrusted remains of a southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as found in the dry lake bed of Elizabeth Lake, Los Angeles County, California. Note the heavy coating of evaporites on the carcass. Most living turtles collected in 2014 had similar but varying degrees of coatings on the head, limbs and shell.
Photograph of Elizabeth Lake in the fourth year of drought and two years after the Powerhouse Fire. Note salt encrustation of surface and small accumulations of water remaining in the foreground and background.
Almost all of the turtles living in a southern California lake died following a large fire and years of drought, according to a new USGS report.
Photograph of Elizabeth Lake in the fourth year of drought and two years after the Powerhouse Fire. Note salt encrustation of surface and small accumulations of water remaining in the foreground and background.
Almost all of the turtles living in a southern California lake died following a large fire and years of drought, according to a new USGS report.
An Agassiz's desert tortoise in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California. USGS scientists have been studying the ecology of tortoises at this industrial site since the mid-1990s to learn more about the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development and operation on these threatened tortoises.
An Agassiz's desert tortoise in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California. USGS scientists have been studying the ecology of tortoises at this industrial site since the mid-1990s to learn more about the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development and operation on these threatened tortoises.
U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich holding a radioed desert tortoise at the Mesa wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich holding a radioed desert tortoise at the Mesa wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
A Morafka's desert tortoise in Saguaro National Park, with radio transmitter attached to its shell as part of a USGS study.
A Morafka's desert tortoise in Saguaro National Park, with radio transmitter attached to its shell as part of a USGS study.
A male Agassiz's desert tortoise, equipped with a transmitter, in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, Calif.
A male Agassiz's desert tortoise, equipped with a transmitter, in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, Calif.
A radioed male tortoise in the Santa Rosa Mountains, CA eating a beavertail prickly pear cactus. During the extreme drought conditions we are experiencing, that is the only food available for them with any moisture. They have to cope with all the little spiny gloccids (hair-like spines) that cover the pads of the cactus. Video provided by Dr.
A radioed male tortoise in the Santa Rosa Mountains, CA eating a beavertail prickly pear cactus. During the extreme drought conditions we are experiencing, that is the only food available for them with any moisture. They have to cope with all the little spiny gloccids (hair-like spines) that cover the pads of the cactus. Video provided by Dr.
Dr. Rodrigo Macip with students, checking traps for mud turtles at Pátzcuaro lake, Michoacán, México. Dr. Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ.
Dr. Rodrigo Macip with students, checking traps for mud turtles at Pátzcuaro lake, Michoacán, México. Dr. Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, AZ.
Dr Rodrigo Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is currently a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center's Flagstaff's campus.
Dr Rodrigo Macip is an authority on Méxican turtle ecology. He is currently a visiting scientist at USGS, Southwest Biological Science Center's Flagstaff's campus.
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle was recently observed by USGS scientists and staff from The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in the Mojave Desert. Turtles of this population have rarely been seen since the late 1990s.
An extremely rare Mojave River western pond turtle was recently observed by USGS scientists and staff from The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens in the Mojave Desert. Turtles of this population have rarely been seen since the late 1990s.
USGS Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich gets ready to release a male desert tortoise into its cave-like shelter in southern Joshua Tree National Park after collecting data. Photo by Shellie Puffer, USGS, SBSC.
USGS Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich gets ready to release a male desert tortoise into its cave-like shelter in southern Joshua Tree National Park after collecting data. Photo by Shellie Puffer, USGS, SBSC.
Salt-encrusted remains of a southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as found in the dry lake bed of Elizabeth Lake, Los Angeles County, California. Note the heavy coating of evaporites on the carcass. Most living turtles collected in 2014 had similar but varying degrees of coatings on the head, limbs and shell.
Salt-encrusted remains of a southwestern pond turtle (Actinemys pallida) as found in the dry lake bed of Elizabeth Lake, Los Angeles County, California. Note the heavy coating of evaporites on the carcass. Most living turtles collected in 2014 had similar but varying degrees of coatings on the head, limbs and shell.
Photograph of Elizabeth Lake in the fourth year of drought and two years after the Powerhouse Fire. Note salt encrustation of surface and small accumulations of water remaining in the foreground and background.
Almost all of the turtles living in a southern California lake died following a large fire and years of drought, according to a new USGS report.
Photograph of Elizabeth Lake in the fourth year of drought and two years after the Powerhouse Fire. Note salt encrustation of surface and small accumulations of water remaining in the foreground and background.
Almost all of the turtles living in a southern California lake died following a large fire and years of drought, according to a new USGS report.
An Agassiz's desert tortoise in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California. USGS scientists have been studying the ecology of tortoises at this industrial site since the mid-1990s to learn more about the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development and operation on these threatened tortoises.
An Agassiz's desert tortoise in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, California. USGS scientists have been studying the ecology of tortoises at this industrial site since the mid-1990s to learn more about the effects of utility-scale renewable energy development and operation on these threatened tortoises.
U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich holding a radioed desert tortoise at the Mesa wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
U.S. Geological Survey Research Ecologist Jeff Lovich holding a radioed desert tortoise at the Mesa wind farm near Palm Springs, California.
A Morafka's desert tortoise in Saguaro National Park, with radio transmitter attached to its shell as part of a USGS study.
A Morafka's desert tortoise in Saguaro National Park, with radio transmitter attached to its shell as part of a USGS study.
A male Agassiz's desert tortoise, equipped with a transmitter, in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, Calif.
A male Agassiz's desert tortoise, equipped with a transmitter, in a wind energy facility near Palm Springs, Calif.
*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
