Shawn McCracken
@shawnmccracken.bsky.social
Conservation Biologist | Ecologist | Professor at TAMUCC 🐢🐍🐸🦎🌳🧬
Focused on biodiversity, wildlife conservation, and STEM mentorship. Passionate about empowering students in science and advancing cutting-edge research in Texas and Ecuador.
Focused on biodiversity, wildlife conservation, and STEM mentorship. Passionate about empowering students in science and advancing cutting-edge research in Texas and Ecuador.
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
More building Soft-Release Pens for Texas Tortoises!
Our core crew and an incredible group of volunteers have put in 100+ hrs racing the seasons to get these pens ready so forfeited tortoises can return to the wild before winter.
Huge thanks to all our partners and landowners making this possible!
Our core crew and an incredible group of volunteers have put in 100+ hrs racing the seasons to get these pens ready so forfeited tortoises can return to the wild before winter.
Huge thanks to all our partners and landowners making this possible!
October 21, 2025 at 1:03 PM
More building Soft-Release Pens for Texas Tortoises!
Our core crew and an incredible group of volunteers have put in 100+ hrs racing the seasons to get these pens ready so forfeited tortoises can return to the wild before winter.
Huge thanks to all our partners and landowners making this possible!
Our core crew and an incredible group of volunteers have put in 100+ hrs racing the seasons to get these pens ready so forfeited tortoises can return to the wild before winter.
Huge thanks to all our partners and landowners making this possible!
Tried to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Constitution Center while passing through Philly on the way home from the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group meeting, but with the NPS closed all I managed was a photo through the window. What a perfect analogy…😞
October 4, 2025 at 2:29 AM
Tried to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Constitution Center while passing through Philly on the way home from the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group meeting, but with the NPS closed all I managed was a photo through the window. What a perfect analogy…😞
Tried to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Constitution Center while passing through Philly on the way home from the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group meeting, but with the NPS closed all I managed was a photo through the window. Freedom isn’t free. What a perfect analogy…😞
October 3, 2025 at 9:51 PM
Tried to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Constitution Center while passing through Philly on the way home from the Diamondback Terrapin Working Group meeting, but with the NPS closed all I managed was a photo through the window. Freedom isn’t free. What a perfect analogy…😞
I’m so honored and proud that my lab @themccrackenlab.bsky.social at TAMU-CC is leading a research-driven effort to help return waif Texas tortoises to the wild. This work is built on years of collaboration studying disease ecology, population genomics, and distribution patterns.
August 6, 2025 at 3:29 AM
I’m so honored and proud that my lab @themccrackenlab.bsky.social at TAMU-CC is leading a research-driven effort to help return waif Texas tortoises to the wild. This work is built on years of collaboration studying disease ecology, population genomics, and distribution patterns.
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
TX🐢 - Long-term monitoring sites are key to Texas tortoise conservation.
We’re establishing sites across Texas to study seasonal habitat use, movement, and stress responses using fine-scale GPS and digital radio tracking.
Research approved by TPWD, USFWS, landowners & TAMU-CC.
#texastortoise
We’re establishing sites across Texas to study seasonal habitat use, movement, and stress responses using fine-scale GPS and digital radio tracking.
Research approved by TPWD, USFWS, landowners & TAMU-CC.
#texastortoise
June 28, 2025 at 5:20 PM
TX🐢 - Long-term monitoring sites are key to Texas tortoise conservation.
We’re establishing sites across Texas to study seasonal habitat use, movement, and stress responses using fine-scale GPS and digital radio tracking.
Research approved by TPWD, USFWS, landowners & TAMU-CC.
#texastortoise
We’re establishing sites across Texas to study seasonal habitat use, movement, and stress responses using fine-scale GPS and digital radio tracking.
Research approved by TPWD, USFWS, landowners & TAMU-CC.
#texastortoise
Happy Texas Tortoise Day! 🐢
Did you know Texas tortoises (Gopherus berlandieri) LOVE to eat prickly pear fruit.🌵🐢The fruit can make up a good part of the tortoises diet. Today (June 21st) is the first ever #TexasTortoiseDay be sure to thank one if you see one in the wild. #texastortoise #texasnative #texasnature
June 21, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Happy Texas Tortoise Day! 🐢
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
🐢Where Research Informs Management: The Case of the Texas Tortoise 🐢 Jackie Tleimat (PhD candidate) took science to the public, sharing her research to guide conservation efforts for the tortoise. #ConservationScience #ScienceForCommunity #WildlifeResearch #STEMOutreach #lifesciencestamucc
January 31, 2025 at 3:25 PM
🐢Where Research Informs Management: The Case of the Texas Tortoise 🐢 Jackie Tleimat (PhD candidate) took science to the public, sharing her research to guide conservation efforts for the tortoise. #ConservationScience #ScienceForCommunity #WildlifeResearch #STEMOutreach #lifesciencestamucc
In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why www.theguardian.com/environment/...
In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why
Populations have been falling for decades, even in tracts of forest undamaged by humans. Experts have spent two decades trying to understand what is going on
www.theguardian.com
January 31, 2025 at 12:09 AM
In the most untouched, pristine parts of the Amazon, birds are dying. Scientists may finally know why www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
Now accepting proposals for symposia and workshops at the XIII Latin American Congress of Herpetology set for 23-27 February 2026 in fabulous Costa Rica! Deadline for proposals = 28 feb. 2025. 🐸 🦎 🐢 🐍 🐊
www.herpcr2026.com/inscription
These meeting are great fun, very educational & trilingual.
www.herpcr2026.com/inscription
These meeting are great fun, very educational & trilingual.
Inscripción — XIII CLH
www.herpcr2026.com
January 22, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Now accepting proposals for symposia and workshops at the XIII Latin American Congress of Herpetology set for 23-27 February 2026 in fabulous Costa Rica! Deadline for proposals = 28 feb. 2025. 🐸 🦎 🐢 🐍 🐊
www.herpcr2026.com/inscription
These meeting are great fun, very educational & trilingual.
www.herpcr2026.com/inscription
These meeting are great fun, very educational & trilingual.
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
Leap into amphibian genomics 🐸 with this new year read.
The Amphibian Genomics Consortium (AGC) is advancing global efforts to sequence high-quality genomes and bridge the gap in amphibian research.
The Amphibian Genomics Consortium (AGC) is advancing global efforts to sequence high-quality genomes and bridge the gap in amphibian research.
January 7, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Leap into amphibian genomics 🐸 with this new year read.
The Amphibian Genomics Consortium (AGC) is advancing global efforts to sequence high-quality genomes and bridge the gap in amphibian research.
The Amphibian Genomics Consortium (AGC) is advancing global efforts to sequence high-quality genomes and bridge the gap in amphibian research.
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
To review machine learning predictions, we use a Jupyter Notebook to review files from each site in order from highest- to lowest-scoring: github.com/kitzeslab/bi...
We do this for each day of recording in order to create detection histories for occupancy modeling.
We do this for each day of recording in order to create detection histories for occupancy modeling.
bioacoustics-cookbook/tdl-notebook at main · kitzeslab/bioacoustics-cookbook
Jupyter Notebooks for interactive review and annotation of audio files - kitzeslab/bioacoustics-cookbook
github.com
December 18, 2024 at 8:36 PM
To review machine learning predictions, we use a Jupyter Notebook to review files from each site in order from highest- to lowest-scoring: github.com/kitzeslab/bi...
We do this for each day of recording in order to create detection histories for occupancy modeling.
We do this for each day of recording in order to create detection histories for occupancy modeling.
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
McCracken Lab PhD Opportunity - Texas tortoise
Seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join our collaborative and dynamic research team starting Fall 2025. Research on the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri). tinyurl.com/PhDTXtortoise
Seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join our collaborative and dynamic research team starting Fall 2025. Research on the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri). tinyurl.com/PhDTXtortoise
January 20, 2025 at 7:55 AM
McCracken Lab PhD Opportunity - Texas tortoise
Seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join our collaborative and dynamic research team starting Fall 2025. Research on the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri). tinyurl.com/PhDTXtortoise
Seeking a highly motivated and talented PhD student to join our collaborative and dynamic research team starting Fall 2025. Research on the Texas tortoise (Gopherus berlandieri). tinyurl.com/PhDTXtortoise
Reposted by Shawn McCracken
Great representation at the Texas Conservation Symposium. Ingleside Sandsheet pond plant communities, Texas tortoise, Texas Scarlet Snake, and the Texas Diamondback terrapin.
Congrats to PhD candidate Jackie Tleimat who was awarded first prize for her talk!
#biodiversity #conservation #research
Congrats to PhD candidate Jackie Tleimat who was awarded first prize for her talk!
#biodiversity #conservation #research
January 18, 2025 at 7:16 PM
Great representation at the Texas Conservation Symposium. Ingleside Sandsheet pond plant communities, Texas tortoise, Texas Scarlet Snake, and the Texas Diamondback terrapin.
Congrats to PhD candidate Jackie Tleimat who was awarded first prize for her talk!
#biodiversity #conservation #research
Congrats to PhD candidate Jackie Tleimat who was awarded first prize for her talk!
#biodiversity #conservation #research