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  • Gopher Tortoise Council

    Gopher Tortoise Council

    Working to conserve the gopher tortoise and the fascinating world in which it lives
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Recent News:

JOIN US! 

Registration is now open, and we are accepting abstracts for oral and poster presentations for the 47th Annual Gopher Tortoise Council Meeting.

The meeting will be held at Tall Timbers, Perkins Conservation Education Center from Fri, Nov 14, 2025 - Sun, Nov 16, 2025.

For more details on registration, lodging and submitting abstracts, click HERE.

 Meeting T-Shirts are now available! Click HERE to order. 

Click HERE for the latest news and announcements from the Gopher Tortoise Council, including:

  • Letter from the Co-Chair
  • GTC Announcements
  • 2025 Annual Meeting Details
  • Gopher Tortoise Day Spotlight: Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve and Kingsley Plantation by the National Parks Service
  • Recent Research: 

    • Bednarik, N.M., R.B. Fedders, and B.B. Rothermel. 2025. Prevalence and extent of shell lesions in a wild population of young Gopherus polyphemus (gopher tortoise) in Florida. Southeastern Naturalist https://doi.org/10.1656/058.024.0201

    •  Loope, K.J., R.A. Cozad, D.B. Breakfield, M.J. Aresco, and E.A. Hunter. 2025. Social composition of soft-release groups is correlated with survival of translocated gopher tortoises. Journal of Wildlife Management https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.70020

    •  Samuels, L.R.N., T. Wilcox, M. Hoffman, M. Elmore, R. Aldredge, B. Stegenga, J. E. Bogan Jr., M.A. Davis, S. Hertz, M.K. Schwartz, and H.C. Chandler. 2025. Comparison of camera traps, eDNA, and visual encounter surveys for threatened species detection. Journal for Nature Conservation https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2025.126948

    •  Wisely, S.M., C. Torhorst, S. Botero-Cañola, N. Canino, A.M. James, and K. O'Hara. 2025. Contact between soft tick vectors of African swine fever virus and invasive wild pigs in the southeastern USA. Parasites & Vectors https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-025-06811-1