Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Margaret Lamont, Ph.D.

Meg Lamont is a Research Biologist at the USGS Wetland and Aquatic Research Center. 

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 coastal and marine vertebrates in the Gulf of Mexico. She leads multiple research projects on topics such as demography, habitat use, and movement patterns, particularly related to varying environmental parameters. Her research has focused on species that include nesting and inwater marine turtles (Kemp's ridley, loggerhead and green turtles), diamondback terrapins, gopher tortoise, box turtles, Gulf sturgeon and Yellowfin tuna. She partners with various agencies including the Department of Defense, US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, in addition to academic institutions, state agencies and non-profit organizations.

Science and Products

link
Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta)

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.
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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.
Learn More
link
A nesting loggerhead carrying a satellite tag on the St. Joseph Peninsula, FL

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.
By
Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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.
Learn More
link
A large juvenile loggerhead captured in-water in St. Joseph Bay, FL.

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.
By
Ecosystems, Energy & Wildlife, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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.
Learn More
link
Fig. 4. Loggerhead sea turtle, Cape San Bas, FL

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).
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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).
Learn More
link
Weighing sturgeon prior to tagging

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.
By
Ecosystems, Fisheries Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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.
Learn More

Preliminary data from animal borne cameras on loggerhead sea turtles in St. Joseph Bay, Florida (2018-2019)

This is a fifty-four second video which includes short segments compiled from video collected using GoPro cameras mounted on two individual loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) within St. Joseph Bay, Florida as part of a preliminary data release for U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) outreach publications. Approximately 90 minutes of video footage was collected per individual prior to retrieval. This i
By
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Filter Total Items: 40

Gopherus polyphemus (Gopher Tortoise) adult mortality

Gopherus polyphemus has typically high adult survivorship, with some populations reaching a mean annual survivorship of 93.4% (Howell et al. 2019. J. Wildl. Manage. 84:56–65). Instances of adult mortality are not commonly reported outside of large mortality events, and most often result from disease, starvation, dehydration, or chronic stress (Gates et al. 2002. Florida Sci. 65:185– 197; Cozad et
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Genetic diversity of immature Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles from the northern Gulf of Mexico

The Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) is the world’s most endangered sea turtle species. Predominately nesting at only one beach in Mexico, this species declined to an estimated 300 females in the mid-1980s. Conservation efforts in the United States and Mexico, including a head start programme in southern Texas in which hatchlings were reared in captivity for several months before being released
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Using systems thinking to inform management of imperiled species: A case study with sea turtles

Management of imperiled species facing spatiotemporally dynamic threats is difficult. Systems thinking can inform their management by quantifying the impacts that they face. We apply systems thinking to the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGM) loggerhead (Caretta caretta) Recovery Unit (RU), one of the smallest subpopulations of loggerheads nesting in the USA. We characterized disturbances to nests, mana
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Tropicalization of temperate ecosystems in North America: The northward range expansion of tropical organisms in response to warming winter temperatures

Tropicalization is a term used to describe the transformation of temperate ecosystems by poleward‐moving tropical organisms in response to warming temperatures. In North America, decreases in the frequency and intensity of extreme winter cold events are expected to allow the poleward range expansion of many cold‐sensitive tropical organisms, sometimes at the expense of temperate organisms. Althoug
By
Ecosystems, Climate Research and Development Program, Land Change Science Program, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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. Gulf of Mexico coast. Satellite tags were deployed
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Movements of marine and estuarine turtles during Hurricane Michael

Natural disturbances are an important driver of population dynamics. Because it is difficult to observe wildlife during these events, our understanding of the strategies that species use to survive these disturbances is limited. On October 10, 2018, Hurricane Michael made landfall on Florida’s northwest coast. Using satellite and acoustic telemetry, we documented movements of 6 individual turtles:
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

Variation in species composition, size and fitness of two multi-species sea turtle assemblages using different neritic habitats

The neritic environment is rich in resources and as such plays a crucial role as foraging habitat for multi-species marine assemblages, including sea turtles. However, this habitat also experiences a wide array of anthropogenic threats. To prioritize conservation funds, targeting areas that support multi-species assemblages is ideal. This is particularly important in the Gulf of Mexico where resto
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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 potential use of a species distribution model ensemb
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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. There was a strong correlation between length, width and weight
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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 additional northern GoM regions that may serve as
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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 dynamics. The NW Atlantic loggerhead turtle populati
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center

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 corridors of post-nesting adult female loggerhead sea tur
By
Ecosystems, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
link

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...

Read Article

Science and Products