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
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).
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 (Contractor); Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret; Hart, Kristen 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. Shared habitat use by juveniles of three sea turtle species
The first step in understanding how sympatric species share habitat is defining spatial boundaries. While home range data for juvenile sea turtles exists, few studies have examined spatial overlap of multiple species in foraging habitat. Using satellite tracking technology, we define home ranges for juveniles of 3 sea turtle species (loggerhead,...
Lamont, Margaret M.; Iverson, Autumn R. Overwintering behavior of juvenile sea turtles at a temperate foraging ground
Most freshwater and terrestrial turtle species that inhabit temperate environments hibernate to survive extreme cold periods. However, for sea turtles, the question of whether these species use hibernation as an overwintering strategy has not been resolved (Ultsch 2006). Felger et al. (1976) suggested that sea turtles bury themselves in...
Lamont, Margaret M.; Seay, David R.; Gault, Kathleen Marine threats overlap key foraging habitat for two imperiled sea turtle species in the Gulf of Mexico
Effective management of human activities affecting listed species requires understanding both threats and animal habitat-use patterns. However, the extent of spatial overlap between high-use foraging areas (where multiple marine species congregate) and anthropogenic threats is not well known. Our modeling approach incorporates data on sea turtle...
Hart, Kristen M.; Iverson, Autumn R.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret M.; Bucklin, David N.; Shaver, Donna J. Temporal shift of sea turtle nest sites in an eroding barrier island beach
Shoreline changes affect functionality of a sandy beach as a wildlife habitat and coastal erosion is among the primary causes of the changes. We examined temporal shifts in locations where loggerheads placed nests in relation to coastal erosion along a barrier island beach in the northern Gulf of Mexico. We first confirmed consistency in long-term...
Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret M.; Carthy, Raymond R. Characterization of the juvenile green turtle (Chelonia mydas) microbiome throughout an ontogenetic shift from pelagic to neritic habitats
The gut microbiome of herbivorous animals consists of organisms that efficiently digest the structural carbohydrates of ingested plant material. Green turtles (Chelonia mydas) provide an interesting model of change in these microbial communities because they undergo a pronounced shift from a surface-pelagic distribution and omnivorous diet to a...
Price, James T.; Paladino, Frank V.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Witherington, Blair E.; Bates, Scott T.; Soule, Tanya Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic
Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are...
Bjorndal, Karen A.; Bolten, Alan B.; Chaloupka, Milani; Saba, Vincent S.; Bellini, Cláudio; Marcovaldi, Maria A.G.; Santos, Armando J.B.; Bortolon, Luis Felipe Wurdig; Meylan, Anne B.; Meylan, Peter A.; Gray, Jennifer; Hardy, Robert; Brost, Beth; Bresette, Michael; Gorham, Jonathan C.; Connett, Stephen; Crouchley, Barbara Van Sciver; Dawson, Mike; Hayes, Deborah; Diez, Carlos E.; van Dam, Robert P.; Willis, Sue; Nava, Mabel; Hart, Kristen M.; Cherkiss, Michael S.; Crowder, Andrew; Pollock, Clayton; Hillis-Starr, Zandy; Muñoz Tenería, Fernando A.; Herrera-Pavón, Roberto; Labrada-Martagón, Vanessa; Lorences, Armando; Negrete-Philippe, Ana; Lamont, Margaret M.; Foley, Allen M.; Bailey, Rhonda; Carthy, Raymond R.; Scarpino, Russell; McMichael, Erin; Provancha, Jane A.; Brooks, Annabelle; Jardim, Adriana; López-Mendilaharsu, Milagros; González-Paredes, Daniel; Estrades, Andrés; Fallabrino, Alejandro; Martínez-Souza, Gustavo; Vélez-Rubio, Gabriela M.; Boulon, Ralf H.; Collazo, Jaime; Wershoven, Robert; Hernández, Vicente Guzmán; Stringell, Thomas B.; Sanghera, Amdeep; Richardson, Peter B.; Broderick, Annette C.; Phillips, Quinton; Calosso, Marta C.; Claydon, John A.B.; Metz, Tasha L.; Gordon, Amanda L.; Landry, Andre M.; Shaver, Donna J.; Blumenthal, Janice; Collyer, Lucy; Godley, Brendan J.; McGowan, Andrew; Witt, Matthew J.; Campbell, Cathi L.; Lagueux, Cynthia J.; Bethel, Thomas L.; Kenyon, Lory Development of a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle stock assessment model
We developed a Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) stock assessment model to evaluate the relative contributions of conservation efforts and other factors toward this critically endangered species’ recovery. The Kemp’s ridley demographic model developed by the Turtle Expert Working Group (TEWG) in 1998 and 2000 and updated for the binational...
Gallaway, Benny J.; Gazey, William; Caillouet, Charles W.; Plotkin, Pamela T.; Abreu Grobois, F. Alberto; Amos, Anthony F.; Burchfield, Patrick M.; Carthy, Raymond R.; Castro Martinez, Marco A.; Cole, John G.; Coleman, Andrew T.; Cook, Melissa; DiMarco, Steven F.; Epperly, Sheryan P.; Fujiwara, Masami; Gamez, Daniel Gomez; Graham, Gary L.; Griffin, Wade L.; Illescas Martinez, Francisco; Lamont, Margaret M.; Lewison, Rebecca L.; Lohmann, Kenneth J.; Nance, James M.; Pitchford, Jonathan; Putman, Nathan F.; Raborn, Scott W.; Rester, Jeffrey K.; Rudloe, Jack J.; Sarti Martinez, Laura; Schexnayder, Mark; Schmid, Jeffrey R.; Shaver, Donna J.; Slay, Christopher; Tucker, Anton D.; Tumlin, Mandy; Wibbels, Thane; Zapata Najera, Blanca M. Biomarkers reveal sea turtles remained in oiled areas following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Assessments of large-scale disasters, such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are problematic because while measurements of post-disturbance conditions are common, measurements of pre-disturbance baselines are only rarely available. Without adequate observations of pre-disaster organismal and environmental conditions, it is impossible to assess...
Vander Zanden, Hannah B.; Bolten, Alan B.; Tucker, Anton D.; Hart, Kristen M.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Reich, Kimberly J.; Addison, David S.; Mansfield, Katherine L.; Phillips, Katrina F.; Pajuelo, Mariela; Bjorndal, Karen A. Head-started Kemp’s ridley turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) nest recorded in Florida: Possible implications
A head-started Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) was documented nesting on South Walton Beach, Florida on 25 May 2015. This record supports the possibility that exposure to Florida waters after being held in captivity through 1–3 yrs of age during the head-starting process may have influenced future nest site selection of...
Shaver, Donna J.; Lamont, Margaret M.; Maxwell, Sharon; Walker, Jennifer Shelby; Dillingham, Ted The effects of large beach debris on nesting sea turtles
A field experiment was conducted to understand the effects of large beach debris on sea turtle nesting behavior as well as the effectiveness of large debris removal for habitat restoration. Large natural and anthropogenic debris were removed from one of three sections of a sea turtle nesting beach and distributions of nests and false crawls (non-...
Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret M.
After Hurricane Devastation, Sea Turtle Scientists Rebound, Help Rebuild
Seven months after their home base in the Florida Panhandle was demolished by Hurricane Michael, U.S. Geological Survey sea turtle researchers were headed back into the field on May 1, the start of nesting season for Florida's sea turtles.