I conducted an integrative field study on male cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus), a common pitviper of the southeastern United States, to investigate the evolution of contrasting mating patterns in North American pitvipers (bimodal and unimodal annual patterns) and resolve conflicting information about the pattern exhibited by the cottonmouth. I determined a unimodal late summer peak of testosterone (T) and a muted unimodal seasonal cycle of the sexual segment of the kidney (a secondary sexual characteristic), both of which were correlated with the single peak of spermatogenesis in late summer. I also conducted a study to determine diel and seasonal variation of corticosterone (CORT), the effect of captive handling on CORT, and the relationship between CORT and T after captive handling, and detected a significant elevation of CORT and a significant decrease of T after capture in male cottonmouths, as well as a significant negative correlation between CORT and T.

<p>Green turtles (<em>Chelonia mydas</em>) perform ocean-crossing migrations, maintain healthy marine ecosystems, generate income through tourism, and are endangered and declining globally. For these reasons, among others, this species has been a focus of numerous research programs worldwide for almost a century. Most of these sea turtle research programs require some form of animal handling to collect the required data (e.g., tagging information or the collection of biological samples). However, this can cause stress, especially for wild animals, and that raises ethical issues. Here, I describe novel methods for assessing and mitigating the effects of handling stress on green turtles. Specifically: (1) I used a combination of animal-borne cameras and drone footage to determine how handling stress altered the post-release behavior of green turtles and (2) I used a photo-ID software to determine whether flipper scales can provide more accurate identifications than the more conventionally used facial scale patterns. </p> <p><br></p> <p>I found that turtles spent more time swimming and had shortened dive intervals in the first 30 mins after capture and attachment of a camera than in the hours that follow. Instances of socializing, foraging and resting increased over the 3-3.5 h after release. Animals recorded by drone and not captured were less likely to rest, which suggests this behavior may be a recovery response to handling and/or stress. The same animals were also more likely to socialize. When determining the accuracy of flipper or facial images for photo-ID, I found that head scales provided correct identifications 80% of the time, whereas the flipper provided correct identifications 100% of the time. This implies that researchers could use the flipper instead of more invasive tagging techniques, such as metal flipper tags or using lights to photograph the face for photo-ID, which can induce stress.</p>