Dr. Joe Butler Professor & Department Chair B.S. (Business) Miami Univ. (1970) B.S. (Education) Miami Univ. (1970) M.S. (Zoology) Ohio State Univ. (1977) Ph.D. (Zoology) Ohio State Univ. (1978) Joined UNF faculty in 1989. Phone: 904-620-2831 Office: 3/2238 Email: jbutler@unf.edu

TEACHING: Human Biology, Canine Anatomy, Parasitology.

RESEARCH INTERESTS:Throughout my career as a herpetologist I have enjoyed researching a variety of organisms. Early in my career I studied snake ecology, and as a visiting professor at University of Ibadan in Nigeria for a year I investigated the reproductive biology of several species. Since my arrival in Florida I have worked primarily with turtles beginning with a study of a population of gopher tortoises on campus. Working with undergraduate assistants we studied adult reproduction and followed free ranging hatchlings with radio telemetry for two years. More recently I have been working with Carolina diamondback terrapins in the marshes and tidal creeks of the Intracoastal Waterway. My students and I have worked intensively on a terrapin nesting beach analyzing nest deposition and predation, clutch sizes, emergence periods, and hatchling sizes and behavior. (The above photo is from the nesting beach where I had just captured two adult terrapins coming up to nest.) We have also used telemetry to follow adult terrapins from different areas through several seasons which allowed us to assess home range, variation in habitat usage, and hibernation behavior. The terrapin work was funded by the Nongame Wildlife Program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from 1994 through 2001. My latest endeavor involves the interaction of terrapins and crab traps. Terrapins enter these traps and drown, and it is thought that this is the greatest source of mortality for this species throughout their range. We are now testing devices that limit the size of the opening of the crab traps enough to preclude most terrapins from entering without lowering crab capture. This work is funded by the Florida Sea Grant Program through 2003.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Heinrich, G.L., T.J. Walsh, N.E. Mattheus, J.A. Butler and P.C.H. Pritchard.  2010. Discovery of a modern-day midden: continued exploitation of the Suwannee cooter, Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis, and conservation implications. Florida Scientist 73:14-19. 

Butler, J. A. and G. L. Heinrich. 2007 The effectiveness of bycatch reduction devices on crab pots at reducing capture and mortality of diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin) in Florida. Estuaries and Coasts 30:1-7.

Butler, J. A., G. L. Heinrich, and R. A. Seigel. 2006 Third workshop on the ecology, status and conservation of diamondback terrapins: results and recommendations.  Chelonian Conservation and Biology. 5:331-334.

Butler, J.A., R. A. Seigel, and B. Mealey. 2006. Malaclemys terrapin – Diamondback Terrapin. In: Meylan, P.A. (Ed.)  Biology and Conservation of Florida Turtles. Chelonian Research Monographs No. 3, pp. 279 - 295.

Butler, J.A., C. Broadhurst, M. Green and Z. Mullin. 2004. Nesting, nest predation, and hatchling emergence of the Carolina diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin centrata, in northeastern Florida. American Midland Naturalist 152:145-155.

Butler, J.A. 2002. Population ecology, home range, and seasonal movements of the Carolina diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin centrata, in northeastern Florida. Final Report. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Tallahassee, Florida, USA.Butler, J.A. 2001. Nesting biology of the sea turtles of St. Kitts, West Indies. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 4:191-196.

Butler, J.A. 2000. The status and distribution of the Carolina diamondback terrapin, Malaclemmys terrapin centrata, in Duval County. Fla. Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, Nongame Wildlife Program Final Report.

Harwood, V.J., J. Butler, D. Parrish, V. Wagner. 1999. Isolation of fecal coliform bacteria from the diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin centrata. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 65:865-867.

Butler, J.A. and S. Sowell. 1996. Survivorship and predation of hatchling and yearling gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus. Journal of Herpetology 30:455-458

Butler, J.A. and T.W. Hull. 1996. Reproduction of the tortoise, Gopherus polyphemus, in northeastern Florida. Journal of Herpetology 30:14-18.

Butler, J.A. R.D. Bowman, T.W. Hull, and S. Sowell. 1995. Movements and home range of hatchling and yearling gopher tortoises, Gopherus polyphemus. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 1:173-180.

Butler, J.A., T.W. Hull, and R. Franz. 1995. Neonate aggregations and maternal attendance of young in the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, Crotalus adamanteus (Crotalidae). Copeia 1995(1):196-198.