Utilizing Conservation of the Rio Grande River Cooter (Pseudemys gorzugi) as a Comprehensive Undergraduate Experience in Conservation Biology

The objectives of this project are to: 1) Provide hands-on experience for undergraduate students that will facilitate a career in conservation biology. The addition of thermal and radio trackers in student training will provide a unique skillset otherwise unavailable for students at a small rural university such as ENMU, making our students considerably more prepared for conservation careers and competitive against graduates of larger universities. 2) Produce real world data on tolerance of abiotic stressors for the threatened species P. gorzugi that will directly inform conservation efforts. Students will be involved in field and laboratory experiments assessing habitat usage and selective tolerances of temperature and salinity. These data will be utilized in a larger model to understand current habitat usage and suitable habitat for potential translocations. 3) Use real data to communicate conservation concepts to the wider population of eastern New Mexico, especially concerning P. gorzugi. The protection and management of natural spaces cannot be sustained by conservation biologists alone and requires support and recruitment from outside of the scientific community. We will use data produced by our students on P. gorzugi to create an informational display within the ENMU Gennaro Natural History Museum to teach community members about the importance of conservation, especially as it pertains to P. gorzugi.