Christin Moeller
Texas A&M University- Kingsville
Graduate Research Assistant / M.S. in Range & Wildlife Management / Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute
Translocation and Disease Assessment with Texas Tortoises
Born and raised in a small Texas town, I developed a passion for wildlife at a very young age – from spending countless hours with my dad in the woods, hunting, and on the water, fishing. In May of 2020 I graduated from Texas A&M University – Kingsville (TAMUK) with a bachelor’s in Range and Wildlife Management. In the mix of the pandemic I was employed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to help with the testing of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), soon after my term ended I accepted a graduate position back at TAMUK studying Texas Tortoises across South Texas. Over the years, tortoise numbers in Texas have slowly been declining due to various reasons with one being expansion. The purpose of my thesis is to determine if translocation will be a viable management tool for this species. Currently, I have been catching and relocating tortoises in the Lower Rio Grande Valley area. While doing so, I conduct overall physical checks and take various samples for disease assessment work. Throughout the project I will also be conducting a variety of small behavioral studies, the outcomes of this study could potentially provide biologists with a new management tool when it comes to helping this native species.
