Current projects
Do urban heat islands impact nest conditions of freshwater turtles?
We are collaborating with the University of Toronto Mississauga (Centre for Urban Environments), Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, and Scales Nature Park to investigate whether urban heat islands affect internal nest temperature of Blanding's, Painted, and Snapping Turtles in Brampton and surrounding areas (e.g., Toronto and Halton Hills). For more information, please contact tharusha.wijewardena@gmail.com
Published projects
Wijewardenja, T., Takayesu, R., Mueller, M., Leckie, L., Fernandes, M-C., Murray, R., & Riley, J. (2026). Altered hatching phenology of chrysemys picta (Painted turtles) and unusual terrestrial observations of chelydra serpentina (Common snapping turtles) in urban areas in Ontario, Canada. Urban Naturalist, 85. https://eaglehill.us/URNAonline2/access-pages/085-Wijewardena-accesspage.shtml
Turtle Nest Protection Symposium. (2025). https://drive.google.com/file/d/1datrqfo5hDEGAXKntxhKThNamuLpIQsQ/view?usp=sharing
Dupuis-Désormeaux, M., D’Elia V., Cook, C., Tan, T., Lawrie, D., Karch, M., & MacDonald, S.E. (2024). “Mitigating herpetological road mortality: A case study of how citizen science motivated municipal cooperation”, in Strategies for conservation success in herpetology (Vol. 4), Walls, S.C., & O’Donnell, K.M. (Eds), Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 357pp. https://store10270226.company.site/Volume-4-of-Herpetological-Conservation-Strategies-for-Conservation-Success-in-Herpetology-p677366704
Dupuis-Désormeaux, M., Van Alstyne, G., Mueller, M., Takayesu, R., D’Elia, V., Tan, T., & MacDonald S.E. (2024). Social media-based community science for turtle nest monitoring and conservation. FACETS, 9, 1-7. https://www.facetsjournal.com/doi/10.1139/facets-2023-0044
Dupuis-Désormeaux, M., Van Alstyne, G., Mueller, M., Takayesu, R., D’Elia, V., & MacDonald, S.E. (2022). Red-eared slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) nests in the greater Toronto area. Canadian Field-Naturalist, 136(4): 374-380. https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v136i4.2995