mausteller | Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory | SIU

Emily Mausteller

Email: emily.mausteller@siu.edu

Advisor:  Dr. Guillaume Bastille-Rousseau

Research Interest:

Emily is a PhD student with research interests in herpetofaunal ecology, conservation, and responses to climate change. Before studying at SIU, she investigated potential mechanisms for differential habitat use of salt marsh hummocks by the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus). For her Master’s thesis, she examined salt marsh as a potential surrogate habitat for the eastern diamondback rattlesnake, a species that faces critical habitat loss and severe population declines. Working with such a charismatic species enabled Emily to speak with public and private landowners, military personnel, academics, and the general public to convey the importance of protecting remnant species such as the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. Previously, she studied climate change impacts on food sources of terrestrial salamanders in the northeastern United States. She joined the Cooperative Wildlife Research Lab at Southern Illinois University in Fall 2020 and will be studying the reproduction and movement ecology of Galápagos tortoises.