Please join the NC State College of Natural Resources during NC State’s Red and White Week for the 2025 Frederick and Joan Barkalow Distinguished Conservationist Lecture. Open to the public, this annual lecture features the work of a conservationist selected by fisheries, wildlife and conservation biology students. Annual funds and an endowment established by Joanna and Donald Kann in honor of Joanna’s parents support this lecture.

In-person event is occurring at Witherspoon Student Center (Witherspoon Student Center Room 126, 2810 Cates Ave, Raleigh, NC 27606, United States)

Register HERE

Online and In-Person options available. Select the ticket for the format you prefer!

Doors Open

3:00 PM

Lecture (in person and livestream)

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

In Person Reception

4:30 PM – 5:00 PM

Turtle Tales from a Long Life in the Slow Lane: Mysteries and Discoveries in a Never-Ending Story

A half century ago I posed the following question: “Why are there so many unanswered questions about freshwater turtles?” The same question can be asked today. Many critical questions remain unanswered by turtle biologists, sometimes making it difficult to develop conservation plans that will produce satisfactory outcomes. Nonetheless, exciting and fascinating new discoveries and questions about many aspects of turtle biology continue to emerge, some of intrinsic or esoteric interest and others directly applicable to conservation issues. The stories of how X-ray technology became a tool in turtle biology, how delayed emergence from the nest by hatchlings was first recognized, the significance of color to turtles, and turtle reproductive behavior will be discussed in the context of simple mysteries of turtle biology. I will offer examples and give the historical background of how we got where we are today, and where we need to go.

Whit Gibbons is a herpetologist who is Professor Emeritus of Ecology, University of Georgia, and former Head of the Environmental Outreach and Education program at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (SREL). He received degrees in biology from the University of Alabama (B.S.-1961; M.S.-1963) and in zoology from Michigan State University (Ph.D. – 1967).

Whit Gibbons is author or editor of 25 books on herpetology and ecology (see partial list at https://whitgibbons.com/books-2/) and has published more than 250 articles in scientific journals. He has had commentaries on National Public Radio (Living on Earth, Science Friday, and others), and published more than 1,000 popular articles on ecology in magazines and newspapers, including a weekly environmental column originally distributed by the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. His encyclopedia articles have appeared in World Book, Compton’s, and for 25 years included the annual summary of Zoology for the Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year. In 1993 he wrote “Reptile and Amphibian Study,” the merit badge booklet for the Boy Scouts of America.

Whit is a frequent speaker at meetings, both civic and scientific, and gives talks each year to college and pre-college school groups. Many of the talks use live animals, particularly reptiles and amphibians, in discussions of ecological research and environmental awareness. He also leads herpetological field trips at a private wildlife reserve (Salleyland) in South Carolina.