Odum School Faculty

J. Whitfield Gibbons Professor Odum School of Ecology University of Georgia Ecology Bldg. Athens, GA   30602-2202 Senior Research Scientist Savannah River Ecology Laboratory P.O. Drawer E Aiken, SC   29802 (803) 725-2472 Fax: (803) 725-3309 e-mail: wgibbons@uga.edu http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/staff/WGibbons.htm Graduate Faculty Faculty Member - Conservation Ecology Program

Education
Ph.D. - Michigan State University

Honors and Awards
2006 Henry Fitch Distinguished Herpetologist Award
2005 National Outdoor Book Award for Snakes of the Southeast. 2005. Whit Gibbons and Michael E. Dorcas University of Georgia Press. Athens, GA
2004 Senior Research Award - Association of Southeastern Biologists
2001 UGA Odum School of Ecology-Outstanding Ecology Instructor Award
2001 Distinguished Scientist Award from Citizens for Nuclear Technology Awareness (CNTA)
2000 First Place. Color Photography. Excellence in Craft Awards - SC Outdoor Writers Association
1999 Choice Outstanding Academic Book Award 1999 for Ecoviews: Snakes, Snails, and Environmental Tales. 1998. Whit Gibbons and Anne Gibbons. University of Alabama Press
1999 Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum/Brigham Young University. Distinguished John Tanner Lectureship Award

Research Interests
Herpetology
Life history/ecology of vertebrates
Conservation and management

Research Projects
Studies of herpetofaunal biodiversity in southern ecosystems; environmental impacts of forest management on herpetofauna; using amphibians and reptiles as ecological bioindicators; turtle population ecology and demography; behavioral responses of venomous snakes to human encounters. Funded by Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Golf Association, U.S. Geological Survey.

Selected Publications
[Book] Gibbons, Whit, and Mike Dorcas. 2005. Snakes of the Southeast. 2005. University of Georgia Press.

[Book] Gibbons, J.Whitfield, and M. E. Dorcas. 2004. North American Watersnakes: A Natural History. University of Oklahoma Press.

[Cover Article] Gibbons, J.Whitfield, and Kimberly A. Andrews. 2004. PIT tagging: Simple technology at its best. Bioscience 54:447-454.

[Book Chapter] Gibbons, J. Whitfield . 2003. Chapter 17 - Societal Values and Attitudes: History and Sociological Impact on Amphibian Conservation Problems. Amphibian Conservation. R. D. Semlitsch, Smithsonian Institution Press: 214-227.

[Book Chapter] Gibbons, J. Whitfield, and Karen L. McGlothlin. (2003). A Changing Balance: An Ecological Perspective on the Loss of Biodiversity. Chapter in, Loss of Biodiversity: Exploring Environmental Challenges - A Multidisciplinary Approach. Sharon L. Spray & (eds.) Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.: 29-54.

Gibbons, J. Whitfield, and M. E. Dorcas. 2002. Defensive behavior of cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) towards humans. Copeia 2002 (1):195-198.

Gibbons, J. Whitfield, and K.A. Buhlmann. 2001. Recommendations for enhancing herpetofaunal biodiversity in southern forests; Chapter 28, pages 372-390 in, Wildlife of Southern Forests: Habitat and Management. James Dickson (ed). Hancock House Publishers, Blaine, WA.

[Book] Gibbons, J.W. and A.R. Gibbons. 1998. Ecoviews: Snakes, Snails, and Environmental Tales. University of Alabama Press.

[Book] Gibbons, J.W. 1993. Keeping All the Pieces: Perspectives on Natural History and the Environment. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.

Last Updated: January 19, 2007

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