BS, Millsaps College; PhD, University of Southern Mississippi
Dr. Will Selman came to the Millsaps Biology department in 2016 after six years of working as a Research Biologist at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Louisiana. In this capacity, he worked with private, academic, and governmental agencies to solve complex conservation issues and researched numerous wildlife species. His research focuses on (1) understanding vertebrate life history and ecology and (2) using this information to guide conservation and management decisions on population, species, or community levels. He uses ecological and natural history data to answer hypotheses related to disturbance ecology, thermal ecology, population connectivity, reintroduction ecology, and impacts of natural or anthropogenic stressors on reptile, amphibian, or avian populations. He hopes to develop local research projects in the Jackson area, as well as projects at Kaxil Kiuic, the Millsaps Biocultural Preserve in Yucatán, Mexico.
His teaching interests closely mirror his research interests, so that one complements the other. As a field biologist, he values experiential learning and believes hands-on experiences are essential to understand ecological concepts and organisms. Such classroom experiences could come through taking field trips, identifying specimens, participating in class field projects, and learning field techniques. He currently teaches Zoology, Wetland Ecology, and Herpetology, and he hopes to teach other field or wildlife-related classes in the future.
He is a section editor for the international journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology, a member of the IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist group, and an advisor for the American Turtle Observatory, a nonprofit organization devoted to identifying and conserving North America’s most important landscapes for freshwater turtles.
To find out more about his teaching and research, visit his personal website, www.willselman.com.
