What started as just an interest in turtles developed into me completing my master’s at the Division for Conservation Biology at the University in Bern. In my thesis I am working with the invasive pond slider (Trachemys scripta), which were kept as pets and later released into non-native ecosystems. To better understand and manage the spread of this invasive species, my research focuses on its nesting ecology, specifically nesting behaviour, nest site choice and resulting sex ratios in the nests. Using a model based on abiotic factors and temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), I aim to predict resulting sex ratios in slider turtle nests.
This project is conducted under the supervision of Dr. Stefano Canessa.
