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Missouri State graduate student, adviser funded for turtle research

Date: August 9, 2007
Contact: Dr. Don Moll
(417) 836-5062

SPRINGFIELD — Ben Anders, a graduate student in the biology department at Missouri State University; and his adviser, biology professor Dr. Don Moll, recently received a $2,500 Partner Grant from the Turtle Survival Alliance to promote the conservation and rehabilitation of endangered turtle species. 

The grant will be used to fund Anders and Moll in their research to determine the most a effective methods for producing balanced sex ratios in hatchlings of several endangered Asian turtle species that are produced from eggs incubated in a laboratory. The grant was the only award given by the Turtle Survival Alliance in the country.

“This research is important because it will enhance the effectiveness of programs designed to reestablish natural populations via the release of captive-bred animals,” Moll said.           

Anders, from Little Rock, Ark., focuses primarily on turtle biology and conservation measures. 

In addition to the Turtle Survival Alliance Partner Grant, Anders and Moll also received the Linnaeus Fund Award of $1,000 for a research proposal submitted to the Chelonian Research Foundation early this year.