PUBLICATIONS | research

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS BY TOPIC

Eco-immunology of wildlife

Refsnider, J.M., N. Torres, and J.G. Otten. 2023. No evidence of long-term effects on physiological stress or innate immune functioning in northern map turtles ten years after a freshwater oil spill. Herpetologica 79: 22-29. (Cover)

Refsnider, J.M., J.A. Garcia, B. Holliker, A.C. Hulbert, A. Nunez, and H.M. Streby. 2021. Effects of harmful algal blooms on stress levels and immune functioning in wetland-associated songbirds and reptiles. Science of the Total Environment 788: 147790.

Su, R.C., C.M. Meyers, E.A. Warner, J.A. Garcia, J.M. Refsnider, A. Lad, J.D. Breidenbach, N. Modyanov, D. Malhotra, S.T. Haller, and D.J. Kennedy. 2020. Harmful algal bloom toxicity in Lithobates catesbeiana tadpoles. Toxins 378(12), doi: 10.3390/toxins12060378.

Sanchez, E. and J.M. Refsnider. 2017. Immune activity, but not physiological stress, differs between the sexes during the nesting season in painted turtles. Journal of Herpetology 51(4): 449-453.

Refsnider, J.M., M.G. Palacios, D.M. Reding, and A.M. Bronikowski. 2015. Effects of a novel climate on stress response and immune function in painted turtles (Chrysemys picta). Journal of Experimental Zoology 323A: 160-168.

Climate change and temperature-dependent sex determination in reptiles

Carter, A.L., B.L. Bodensteiner, J.B. Iverson, C.L. Milne-Zelman, T.S. Mitchell, J.M. Refsnider, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2019. Breadth of the thermal response captures individual and geographic variation in temperature-dependent sex determination. Functional Ecology 33: 1928-1939.

Refsnider, J.M. and F.J. Janzen. 2016. Temperature-dependent sex determination under rapid anthropogenic environmental change: Evolution at a turtle's pace? Journal of Heredity 107: 61-70. (Invited Review)

Refsnider, J.M., C. Milne-Zelman, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2014. Population sex ratios under differing local climates in a reptile with environmental sex determination. Evolutionary Ecology 28(5): 977-989.

Refsnider, J.M., B. Bodensteiner, J. Reneker, and F.J. Janzen. 2013. Nest depth does not compensate for sex ratio skews caused by climate change in turtles. Animal Conservation 16(5): 481-490. (Featured Paper)

Refsnider, J.M., B. Bodensteiner, J. Reneker, and F.J. Janzen. 2013. Experimental field studies of species’ responses to climate change: challenges and future directions. Animal Conservation 16(5): 498-499.

Refsnider, J.M. and F.J. Janzen. 2012. Behavioural plasticity may compensate for climate change in a long-lived reptile with temperature-dependent sex determination. Biological Conservation 152: 90-95.

Evolution and ecology of nest-site choice

Bodensteiner, B.L., J.B. Iverson, C.A. Lea, C.L. Milne-Zelman, T.S. Mitchell, J.M. Refsnider, K. Voves, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2023. Mother knows best: Nest-site choice homogenizes embryo thermal environments among populations in a widespread ectotherm. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 378: 20220155.

Doody, J.S. and J.M. Refsnider. 2022. Nesting in reptiles: Natural and anthropogenic threats and evolutionary responses. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 10: 1103193.

Mitchell, T.S., J.M. Refsnider, A. Sethuraman, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2017. Experimental assessment of winter conditions on turtle nesting behavior. Evolutionary Ecology Research 18: 271-280.

Refsnider, J.M. 2016. Nest-site choice and nest construction in non-avian reptiles: evolutionary significance and ecological implications. Avian Biology Research 9: 76-88. (Invited review)

Refsnider, J.M., A.M. Reedy, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2015. Do tradeoffs between predation pressures on females vs. nests drive nest-site choice in painted turtles? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 116: 847-855.

Streby, H.M. and Refsnider, J.M. 2014. Redefining reproductive success in songbirds: a challenge to the nest success paradigm. Auk: Ornithological Advances 131: 718-726. (Invited Perspective)

Streby, H.M., J.M. Refsnider, S.M. Peterson, and D.E. Andersen. 2014. Retirement investment theory explains patterns in songbird nest-site choice. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 281: 20131834. (Cover)

Refsnider, J.M., D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2013. Does shade cover availability limit nest-site choice in two populations of turtles with temperature-dependent sex determination? Journal of Thermal Biology 38: 152-158.

Refsnider, J.M. 2013. High thermal variance in naturally-incubated turtle nests produces faster offspring. Journal of Ethology 31(1): 85-93.

Refsnider, J.M. and F. J. Janzen. 2010. Putting eggs in one basket: Ecological and evolutionary hypotheses for variation in oviposition-site choice. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics 41: 39-57. (Invited Review)

Thermal biology of reptiles

Clifton, I.T., M.R. Duffy, S.B. Hudson, C.D. Robinson, E.E. Virgin, S.S. French, K.E. McCluney, and J.M. Refsnider. 2023. Compensation for exposure to increased environmental temperatures is costly in a montane, desert lizard. Journal of Arid Environments 219: 105079.

Clifton, I.T. and J.M. Refsnider. 2022. Temporal climatic variability predicts thermal tolerance in two sympatric lizard species. Journal of Thermal Biology 108: 103291.

Clifton, I.T., A.J. Bagrowski, E.T. Morrissey, and J.M. Refsnider. 2021. Thermal biology does not vary with body size in greater short-horned lizards (Phrynosoma hernandesi). Herpetological Review 52(3): 507-511.

Refsnider, J.M., T.K. Vazquez, I.T. Clifton, D.M. Jayawardena, and S.A. Heckathorn. 2021. Cellular and whole-organism effects of prolonged versus acute heat stress in a montane, desert lizard. Journal of Experimental Zoology 335: 125-135. doi: 10.1002/jez.2426

Bodensteiner, B.L., G.A. Agudelo-Cantero, A.Z.A. Arietta, A.R. Gunderson, M.M. Muñoz, J.M. Refsnider, and E.J. Gangloff. 2021. Thermal adaptation revisited: How conserved are thermal traits of reptiles and amphibians? Journal of Experimental Zoology 335: 173-194. doi: 10.1002/jez.2414

Refsnider, J.M., I.T. Clifton, and T.K. Vazquez. 2019. Developmental plasticity of thermal ecology traits in reptiles: Trends, potential benefits, and research needs. Journal of Thermal Biology 84: 74-82.

Refsnider, J.M., S.E. Carter, G. R. Kramer, A.D. Siefker, and H.M. Streby. 2019. Is dietary or microhabitat specialization associated with environmental heterogeneity in horned lizards (Phrynosoma)? Ecology and Evolution 9: 5542-5550. (Cover)

Bodensteiner, B.L., D.A. Warner, J.B. Iverson, C.L. Milne-Zelman, T.S. Mitchell, J.M. Refsnider, and F.J. Janzen. 2019. Geographic variation in thermal sensitivity of early life traits in a widespread reptile. Ecology and Evolution 9: 2791-2802.

Refsnider, J.M., S.S. Qian, H.M. Streby, S.E. Carter, I.T. Clifton, A.D. Siefker, and T.K. Vazquez. 2018. Reciprocally-transplanted lizards along an elevational gradient match thermoregulatory behavior of local lizards via phenotypic plasticity. Functional Ecology 32: 1227-1236.

Impacts of an oil spill on freshwater turtles

Otten, J.G. and J.M. Refsnider. 2024. Bigger is better: Age class-specific survival rates in long-lived turtles increase with size. Journal of Wildlife Management 2024: e22544.

Otten, J.G., L. Williams, and J.M. Refsnider. 2023. Freshwater turtle populations as bioindicators following an oil spill: Delayed demographic changes reveal long-term impacts. Ecological Indicators 154: 110519.

Otten, J.G., L. Williams, and J.M. Refsnider. 2023. Assessing translocation success and long-distance homing in riverine turtles ten years after a freshwater oil spill. Conservation Science and Practice 2023: e12922.

Otten, J.G., L. Williams, and J.M. Refsnider. 2022. Survival outcomes of rehabilitated riverine turtles following a freshwater diluted bitumen oil spill. Environmental Pollution 311: 119968.

Frogs and chytridiomycosis

Refsnider, J.M., T.J. Poorten, P.F. Langhammer, P.A. Burrowes, and E.B. Rosenblum. 2015. Genomic correlates of virulence attenuation in the deadly amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Genes, Genomes, and Genetics 5: 2291-2298.

Piovia-Scott, J., K. Pope, S.J. Worth, E.B. Rosenblum, T. Poorten, J. Refsnider, L. Rollins-Smith, L. Reinert, D. Rejmanek, H.L. Wells, D. Rejmanek, S. Lawler, and J. Foley. 2014. Phenotypic and genomic correlates of virulence in the frog-killing fungal pathogen: evidence from a California amphibian decline. The ISME Journal: 1-9.

Methods and techniques

Otten, J.G., I.T. Clifton, D.F. Becker, and J.M. Refsnider. 2024. Here comes the sun: Thermoregulatory behavior in ectotherms illuminated by light-level geolocators. Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1111/jzo.13168

Hulbert, A.C., S.E. Carter, H.M. Streby, and J.M. Refsnider. 2024. Quantifying the accuracy of location data and spatial ecology inferences from GPS tags in two rare, co-occurring turtle species differing in habitat use. Wildlife Research 51: WR23123.

Qian, S.S., J.M. Refsnider, J.A. Moore, G.R. Kramer, and H.M. Streby. 2020. All tests are imperfect: Accounting for false positives and false negatives using Bayesian statistics. Heliyon 6: e03571.

Refsnider, J.M., T.S. Mitchell, H.M. Streby, J. Strickland, D.A. Warner, and F.J. Janzen. 2011. A generalized method to determine detectability of rare and cryptic species using the ornate box turtle (Terrapene ornata) as a model. Wildlife Society Bulletin 35(2): 93-100.

Tuatara ecology

Nelson, N.J., S.N. Keall, J.M. Refsnider, and A.L. Carter. 2019. Behavioral variation in nesting phenology may offset sex-ratio bias in tuatara. Journal of Experimental Zoology 6-7: 373-381. (Invited Paper)

Refsnider, J.M., C.H. Daugherty, S.S. Godfrey, S.N. Keall, J.A. Moore, and N.J. Nelson. 2013. Nesting migrations by a colonially-nesting reptile, the tuatara: Patterns and potential costs. Herpetologica 69(3): 282-290. (Cover)

Ramstad, K.M., J.A Moore, and J.M. Refsnider. 2012. Intrasexual aggression in tuatara: Males and females respond differently to same-sex intruders during mating season. Herpetological Review 43(1): 19-21.

Refsnider, J.M., S.N. Keall, C.H. Daugherty, and N.J. Nelson. 2010. Nest-site choice and fidelity in tuatara on Stephens Island, New Zealand. Journal of Zoology 280(4): 396-402.

Refsnider, J.M., S.N. Keall, C.H. Daugherty, and N.J. Nelson. 2009. Does nest-guarding in female tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus) decrease nest destruction by conspecific females? Journal of Herpetology 43(2): 294-299.

Refsnider, J.M., J. Moore, and H. Streby. 2008. Sphenodon punctatus (Common Tuatara): Prey detection. Herpetological Review 39(3): 347-348.

Box turtle and spotted turtle ecology

Carter, S.E., A.C. Hulbert, H.M. Streby, and J.M. Refsnider. 2023. Clemmys guttata (Spotted turtle): Double clutch. Herpetological Review 54(3): 445-446.

Refsnider, J.M., S.E. Carter, A. Diaz, A.C. Hulbert, G.R. Kramer, P. Madden, and H.M. Streby. 2022. Macro- and microhabitat predictors of nest success and hatchling survival in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) and spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) in oak savanna landscapes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 9: 788025.

Refsnider, J.M., J. Strickland, and F.J. Janzen. 2012. Home range and site fidelity of imperiled ornate box turtles in northwestern Illinois. Chelonian Conservation and Biology 11: 78-83.

Blanding's turtle ecology

Sethuraman, A., S.E. McGaugh, M.L. Becker, C.H. Chandler, J.L. Christiansen, S. Hayden, A. LeClere, J. Monson-Miller, E.M. Myers, R.T. Paitz, J.M. Refsnider, T. VanDeWalle, and F.J. Janzen. 2014. Population genetics of Blanding’s turtle (Emys blandingii) in the midwestern United States. Conservation Genetics 15: 61-73.

Refsnider, J.M. and M.H. Linck. 2012. Habitat use and movement patterns of Blanding’s turtles (Emydoidea blandingii) in Minnesota, U.S.A.: A landscape ecology approach to species conservation. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 7(2): 185-195.

Refsnider, J.M. 2009. High frequency of multiple paternity in Blanding’s Turtle (Emys blandingii). Journal of Herpetology 43(1): 74-81.

Refsnider, J.M. and P. Schlick. 2006. Emydoidea blandingii (Blanding’s turtle): Double-clutching. Herpetological Review 37(3): 341-342.