Margaret Lamont, Ph.D.
Biography
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, 2002
M.S., Marine Science, California State University, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, 1995
B.S., The College of New Jersey, 1991
RESEARCH
Meg Lamont is a research biologist focusing on population-level studies of marine turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. She leads several research projects based primarily in the northern Gulf and partners with various agencies including the Department of Defense, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Department of Transportation. Her work includes investigations of turtle ecology on the nesting beach and within in-water aggregations of primarily loggerhead, green and Kemps ridley turtles.
Science and Products
Fine-Scale Dive Profiles and Activity Patterns of Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico
Researchers are developing acceleration data logger pop-off packages that can be affixed to sea turtles to collect behavioral patterns of diving, surfacing, and general activity levels.
Sea Turtle Movement and Habitat Use in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) uses trawling to capture and relocate live sea turtles away from dredging locations to minimize the risk of turtle entrainment. These incidental turtle captures provide a unique opportunity to fill critical data gaps for difficult to capture life-stages of marine turtles.
Distribution and Density of Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM): Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GoMMAPPS)
The over-arching goal of GoMMAPPS is to collect broad-scale survey data for seabirds, marine mammals and sea turtles to determine distribution and abundance in the Gulf of Mexico.
Sea turtle nesting on Eglin Air Force Base property, Cape San Blas, Florida
The Northwestern Atlantic population of loggerhead sea turtles is one of the largest in the world. Genetic studies have divided this population into 5 management units including a genetically distinct group that nests throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico (GoM).
Gulf Sturgeon Ecological Investigations
The Gulf sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi, has been listed as Threatened since 1991. Beginning in 1986, USGS has been investigating sturgeon population abundance and ecology throughout its range, but mostly in the Suwannee River.
Home ranges and movements of two diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota) in northwest Florida
The diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) is a small estuarine turtle distributed along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts of the USA that is threatened by drowning in crab pots, road mortality, exploitation in the pet trade, and habitat loss. Little is known about the movement patterns and home ranges of these turtles, particularly along the U.S....
Lamont, Margaret; Johnson, Darren; Catizone, Daniel J Predicting multi-species foraging hotspots for marine turtles in the Gulf of Mexico
Quantifying the distribution of animals and identifying underlying characteristics that define suitable habitat are essential for effective conservation of free-ranging species. Prioritizing areas for conservation is important in managing a geographic extent that has a high level of disturbance and limited conservation resources. We examined the...
Fujisaki, Ikuko; Hart, Kristen; Bucklin, David N.; Iverson, Autumn R.; Rubio, Cynthia; Lamont, Margaret; Miron, Raul de Jesus G.D.; Burchfield, Patrick M.; Pena, Jaime; Shaver, Donna J. Growth rates for immature Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from a foraging area in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Examining vital rates helps clarify how environmental characteristics, biological resources and human activities affect population growth. Carapace lengths were gathered for 241 Kemp’s ridley Lepidochelys kempii sea turtles that were marked and recaptured (n = 23) between 2011 and 2019 at a foraging location in northwest Florida, USA....
Lamont, Margaret; Johnson, Darren The importance of the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico to foraging loggerhead sea turtles
Identification of high-use foraging sites where imperiled sea turtles are resident remains a globally-recognized conservation priority. In the biodiverse Gulf of Mexico (GoM), recent telemetry studies highlighted post-nesting foraging sites for federally threatened loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Our aim here was to discern loggerhead use of...
Hart, Kristen M.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Iverson, Autumn; Smith, Brian The incubation environment of nests deposited by a genetically distinct group of loggerhead sea turtles in Northwest Florida
The warming climate presents a challenge to conservation of all threatened and endangered species but particularly to those that exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination such as sea turtles. Changes in temperature may result in changes in the sex ratio of the population which can directly affect reproductive rate, abundance and population...
Lamont, Margaret; Johnson, Darren; Carthy, Raymond Migration corridors and threats in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Straits for loggerhead sea turtles
Along migration corridors, animals can face natural and anthropogenic threats that differ from those in breeding and non-breeding residence areas. Satellite telemetry can aid in describing the timing and location of these migrations. We use this tool with switching state-space modeling and line kernel density estimates to identify migration...
Iverson, Autumn; Benscoter, Allison; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret; Hart, Kristen Sea turtle conservation: 10 ways you can help
Five species of sea turtle rely on Florida’s coastal and nearshore habitats for nesting during the summer months and foraging throughout the year (Figure 1). - Loggerhead turtles, named for their large, block-shaped heads with strong jaw muscles for crushing benthic invertebrates, are the most common sea turtle species on Florida’s nesting...
Swindall, Jessica E.; Ober, Holly K.; Lamont, Margaret; Carthy, Raymond R. Sea turtle conservation: Priorities for environmental education efforts
All five species of sea turtle that occur in Florida are in danger of extinction. Many of the reasons these turtles are declining are a result of people’s actions on beaches and in shallow waters. Environmental education is needed to increase awareness and appreciation for sea turtles, and to teach about the potential harmful impacts human...
Swindall, Jessica E.; Ober, Holly K.; Lamont, Margaret; Carthy, Raymond R. Informing sea turtle outreach efforts to maximize effectiveness
Most sea turtle (Cheloniidae) species worldwide are endangered or threatened, with threats causing harm to sea turtles predominantly human‐induced. Thus, prevention of further declines to these imperiled species will require alteration of human behaviors. Regulations, incentives, and environmental education are 3 strategies that could be used to...
Swindall, Jessica E.; Ober, Holly K.; Lamont, Margaret; Carthy, Raymond Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) diving changes with productivity, behavioral mode, and sea surface temperature
The relationship between dive behavior and oceanographic conditions is not well understood for marine predators, especially sea turtles. We tagged loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) with satellite-linked depth loggers in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a minimal amount of dive data for this species. We tested for associations between four...
Iverson, Autumn; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret; Hart, Kristen West Florida shelf pipeline serves as sea turtle benthic habitat based on in-situ towed camera observations
The use of marine offshore benthic habitats by sea turtles is poorly characterized due to the difficulty of obtaining in situ data. Understanding benthic habitat use that is important to the species’ reproduction, foraging, and migrations is critical for guiding management decisions. A towed camera-based assessment survey system (C-BASS) equipped...
Broadbent, Heather A.; Grasty, Sarah E.; Hardy, Robert F.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Hart, Kristen M.; Lembke, Chad; Brizzolara, Jennifer L.; Murawski, Steven A. Sympatry or syntopy? Investigating drivers of distribution and co‐occurrence for two imperiled sea turtle species in Gulf of Mexico neritic waters
Animals co‐occurring in a region (sympatry) may use the same habitat (syntopy) within that region. A central aim in ecology is determining what factors drive species distributions (i.e., abiotic conditions, dispersal limitations, and/or biotic interactions). Assessing the degree of biotic interactions can be difficult for species with wide ranges...
Hart, Kristen M.; Iverson, Autumn R.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret M.; Bucklin, David N.; Shaver, Donna J.
Tracking Sea Turtles: New Data-Collection Techniques Provide Fine-Scale Data
There is a growing need by marine scientists and managers for acquiring direct evidence of how various environmental conditions affect the behavior of marine life.