As a herpetologist I’m interested in the biology, evolution, and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. Current projects in my lab include looking very closely at sea turtles and their swimming behaviors and patterns of movement. By doing this my colleagues and I have discovered new species of marine organisms and we are trying to better understand how and why these attach to sea turtles. My research lab is also interested in examining historical records of amphibians and reptiles, and works with museum collections world-wide as well as with the H.G. Dowling Herpetological Collection housed here at WCSU. These records are used to look through the lense of past herpetologists and naturalists to improve models of historical change in biodiversity and land use.
Relevant Publications:
Pinou T., Manning B., Robinson N.J. 2025. Sea Turtles Bridge Mathematics and Science Instruction: Using Mathematical Concepts, Mapping, And Video Technology to Make sense of Animal Behavior. Science
Scope. 48(6): 50-58. DOI: 10.1080/08872376.2025.2565560.
Robinson N.J., Lazo-Wasem E.A.. Rojas L, Zardus J.D., Pinou T. 2025. Microdermatoglyphic patterns in scutes are highly conserved among sea turtle species. Herpetology Notes. 18:175-180.
https://www.biotaxa.org/hn/article/view/85845
Robinson N., Doñate-Ordoñez R., Chatzievangelou D., Brooks A.; Cuffley J.; Fields C.; Hoefer S.; Pinou T., Mills S. 2024. Short-term effects of Attaching Animal-Borne devices on the Behavior of Juvenile GreenTurtles. Ecology and Evolution. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70707
McMahon M., Reynolds H., Pinou T. 2022. Loggerhead sea turtle communities changed following the Gulf Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Marine Turtle Newsletter (MTN).165(2022):1-6.
Hoefer S., Robinson N.J., Mills S., Pinou T. 2021. What the dead tell us about the living: using roadkill to analyze diet and endoparasite prevalence in two Bahamian snakes. Copeia. Ichthyology & Herpetology 109(3):685-690.
SEA TURTLE EPIBIONT SAMPLING PROTOCOL