Tucker Heptinstall
@hippieherper.bsky.social
Herpetology. Ecology and Evolution. SDSU- PhD Student. Auburn U., Clemson U.- Alum All views are my own. He/Him. 🐍🦎🐢🐸🐊
Very cool research! Please remember that these kinds of studies do not happen without the non-glamorous, hard-to-publish, often-downplayed work of collecting basic natural history data! Basic science underpins *all* science!
Eric Ekdale@eekdale.bsky.social · 4d agoCool new research from my SDSU colleagues @hippieherper.bsky.social and @doc-brock.bsky.social You all should check it out! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
🚨Super stoked to see the first work of my dissertation with @doc-brock.bsky.social come out today in Global Change Biology Communications!🚨 We found some cool relationships between squamate life history and tolerance to anthropogenic land use! Check it out here: urldefense.com/v3/__http://...
Tolerating the Anthropocene: Squamate Life History Shapes Patterns of Presence in Human Modified Landscapes
We found that many squamates exhibit moderate tolerance of human modification, with wider ranging, larger bodied, faster reproducing species showing the highest tolerance. Intolerance to modification...
urldefense.com
📰Published📰Urban oases relax desiccation risk for an arid-adapted lizard🦎 buff.ly/4mQmbSL 🧪🌍️
Urban oases relax desiccation risk for an arid-adapted lizard
Tucker C. Heptinstall, Savannah J. Weaver, Rory Mendelow, David J. Stroud, Sara Ahlich, Tanmayi Patharkar, Annika Pohlo, Emily N. Taylor, Kinsey M. Brock This is a plain language summary of a Funct…
fesummaries.wordpress.com
🚨New Brock Lab Paper🚨 Super excited to see our work investigating how urbanization is shifting microclimates and causing physiological responses in lizards come out in Functional Ecology! Maybe urbanization isn’t all bad? 👀 Check it out! @doc-brock.bsky.social @emilytaylorscience.com
Urban oases relax desiccation risk for an arid‐adapted lizard
Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.
urldefense.com
Come work with us in SD!! Burritos, sunshine, and reptiles. What else could you possibly want?
Kinsey Brock@doc-brock.bsky.social · 3mo agoThe Brock Lab is hiring a postdoc to help us study sensory ecology and sexual selection in urban reptiles! 🐍🦎🌆 Comes with a $5K travel stipend. App closes July 1! careers-sdsurf.icims.com/jobs/20539/p...
Urban Herpin’ The urban ecosystem is a challenging place for many species to carve out a living, but seems a few reptiles are up for the challenge.
San Diego flexing its herping muscles right now 😮💨
Dear science friends, Have any of you had any experience using a liquid nitrogen dry shipper to bring blood/tissue sample tubes back from international field work? If so, do you have any recommendations for a certain product? What was your experience with airlines/TSA/customs like? Thanks!
Ancient cities as biodiversity havens around the world. 🏛️🌱 www.bbc.com/future/artic...
The animals saved in Greece's ancient accidental 'arks'
Shielded from development and agriculture, many archaeological sites from ancient Greece have now become inadvertent safe harbours for plants and animals.
bbc.com
Some cool urban lizard research presented by wonderful Brock Lab grad students at #SICB2026! Check them out on Tuesday 🦎 🌆
amberlsingh.bsky.social@amberlsingh.bsky.social · 8mo agoCome see my talk on corticosterone dosing in the Italian Wall Lizard (and why we need to verify dosages) Tuesday at 2:45 in B114! Also come check out my labmate Alyssa Head's poster on three-legged lizards of LA (P3-136) Tuesday at 3:30! #SICB2026
Congrats Tucker Heptinstall - 1st ever winner of the IOB Best Student Paper winner! @doc-brock.bsky.social lab see his science & amazing photos via tuckerheptinstall.weebly.com & read his co authored paper doi.org/10.1093/iob/... & watch his thank you YouTube youtu.be/n6sszCzChuA #herpetology
WOOOOOOO! Huge thank you to SICB and all of my collaborators on this project!
SICB journals@sicbjournals.bsky.social · 8mo agoCongrats Tucker Heptinstall - 1st ever winner of the IOB Best Student Paper winner! @doc-brock.bsky.social lab see his science & amazing photos via tuckerheptinstall.weebly.com & read his co authored paper doi.org/10.1093/iob/... & watch his thank you YouTube youtu.be/n6sszCzChuA #herpetology
Winter trips to Colorado for views and wildlife >> Working on my growing stack of projects and manuscripts ⛰️
🧪🐠 I am hiring a postdoc! Work will be on patterns of biodiversity across phylogenetic scales using teleost fishes as a model. Apply by end of Jan 2026 for full consideration apply.interfolio.com/179070 I encourage folks to reach out with any questions. Please Share!
Apply - Interfolio {{$ctrl.$state.data.pageTitle}} - Apply - Interfolio
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Funded Master's position in Rattlesnake Biology at Cal Poly SLO jobs.rwfm.tamu.edu/view-job/?id... Please share!
𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐃𝐎𝐂 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐍 𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒𝐍𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐁𝐈𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐘 I am recruiting a postdoc to join the lab in summer/fall 2026! This is a fully funded, 2-year position. Please share with your networks! Application details: jobs.calpoly.edu/en-us/job/55... Photo is of a rattlesnake I found on campus today (in Dec!)...
Look’it what my student @hippieherper.bsky.social found under a rock in Juniper Canyon. Two Side-blotched lizards he caught with one hand! ✋🏼 #UrbanHerping
@hippieherper.bsky.social 's summer SICB zoom is coming up! Join us by emailing sicbmedia@sicb.org tuckerheptinstall.weebly.com/about.html has studied the #evolution and #ecology of garter #snakes. His broad interests include #herpetology, #ecology, #evolution, and above all else, #conservation.
Our last night in Greece together as the whole gang. I’m grateful to all of these students for spending this time together in nature. It’s a wild thing to live your dream! ✌🏼 🇬🇷
Our last hike of the 2025 Cycladic field season through the hills of Naxos. Hundreds of miles and 160 snakes. A memorable first summer as PI. 🌞 🐍 🇬🇷
Be sure to reserve a spot for our July IOB author - @hippieherper.bsky.social ‘s zoom talk #herpetologist #science #biologist #snakes #reptiles
Crotalology (RATTLESNAKES) w/ @emilytaylorscience.com is up! 🐍💚 Rattles. Fangs. Misconceptions! Boggling stats, hiking advice, dog training, antivenom, first-aid flim-flam, free relocation & changing sentiments. Also: who gets bitten the most? Might surprise you. www.alieward.com/ologies/crot...
Crotalology (RATTLESNAKES) with Dr. Emily Taylor — alie ward
Fangs. Rattles. Misconceptions. Crawl out from under your rock for the angelic rattle of one of the world’s most maligned, misunderstood, gorgeous, mysterious, efficient creatures. Herpetology profess...
alieward.com
New paper! Italian wall lizards have been introduced to urban areas across the world and do very well around humans.🦎 from a source population that has evolved with humans for millennia are more bold than 🦎 from nearby rural areas. Priming them for success in cities? academic.oup.com/jue/article/...
The town lizard and the country lizard: urban wall lizards have more bold and variable escape behaviours than non-urban wall lizards
Abstract. Urban areas are densely populated with humans and have a high proportion of impervious surfaces that form our shelters and roadways. Animals adju
academic.oup.com
America cannot long remain free, nor first among nations, if it becomes the kind of place where universities are dismantled because they don't align politically with the current head of the government.
