Walter E. Meshaka Jr. is an American herpetologist and natural historian. He was the supervisory curator for the four National Parks in southern Florida from 1995 to 2000. In 2000 he became the Senior Curator of Zoology and Botany at the

State Museum of Pennsylvania The State Museum of Pennsylvania is a non-profit museum at 300 North Street in downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is run by the state through the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission and was created to preserve and interpret the region ...

in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.Meshaka, W.E., Jr. et al. 2006. STATUS AND GEOGRAPHIC EXPANSION OF THE MEDITERRANEAN GECKO, HEMIDACTYLUS TURCICUS, IN LOUISIANA: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 1:45-50, Pp. 50 His research has been covered by Lawrence Journal-World, among other news outlets.

Early life and education

Meshaka was born in Worcester to

Lebanese-American Lebanese Americans ( ar, أمريكيون لبنانيون) are Americans of Lebanese descent. This includes both those who are native to the United States of America, as well as immigrants from Lebanon. Lebanese Americans comprise 0.79% of the ...

parents of Melkite Catholic Christian heritage. He earned a B.S. in biology in 1985 from the University of South Florida. Then, he earned a M.S. in Biology in 1988 from Arkansas State University, and completed his Ph.D. in 1994 at the Florida International University

Research

His primary focus is on North American and exotic amphibians and reptiles with a strong connection to the herpetofauna of southern Florida. J. Whitfield Gibbons noted, "Meshaka’s thoughtful afterword on exotic species introductions to Florida offers some achievable solutions for controlling the influx of more herpetofauna.". He published four pocket field guides with

Joseph T. Collins Joseph Thomas Collins, Jr. (July 3, 1939, Crooksville, Ohio – January 14, 2012) was an American herpetologist. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, Collins authored 27 books and over 300 articles on wildlife, of which about 250 were on amph ...

largely "intended to raise public awareness". Their "Pocket Guide to Lizards and Turtles" is said to be "useful for all naturalists to carry with them in eastern Canada. It is especially ideal for junior naturalists as a “starter” guide."Cook, F.R. 2013. A Pocket Guide to Lizards and Turtles of Pennsylvania. by Walter E. Meshaka, Jr., and Joseph T. Collins. 2012.

ook review Ook, OoK or OOK may refer to: * Ook Chung (born 1963), Korean-Canadian writer from Quebec * On-off keying, in radio technology * Toksook Bay Airport (IATA code OOK), in Alaska * Ook!, an esoteric programming language based on Brainfuck * Ook, th ...

Canadian Field-Naturalist 126:345-346. Meshaka has collaborated with the Carnegie Museum of Natural History's

Powdermill Nature Reserve Powdermill Nature Reserve is an environmental research center operated by the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Established in 1956, Powdermill serves as a field station for long-term studies of natural populations, and now forms the core of th ...

on field herpetology research. A long-term mark-recapture study of the ten species of snakes occurring at the preserve has ensued since 2002. He has resurrected and continued a long-term study on Eastern Box Turtles and Wood Turtles that was established by Graham Netting in 1958 and continued until Netting's death in 1996.

Selected bibliography

Books * 2001. The Cuban Treefrog in Florida: Life History of a Successful Colonizing Species. University Press of Florida. Gainesville, FL. (W.E. Meshaka Jr.). 191 pp. * 2004. The Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. Krieger Publishing Company. Melbourne, FL. (W.E. Meshaka Jr., B.P. Butterfield, and J.B. Hauge). 155 pp. * 2005. Amphibians and Reptiles: Status and Conservation in Florida. Krieger Publishing Company. Melbourne, FL. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and K.J. Babbitt, editors). 317 pp. * 2009. A Pocket Guide to Pennsylvania Snakes. Mennonite Press. Newton, KS. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and J.T. Collins). 51 pp. * 2010. A Pocket Guide to Pennsylvania Frogs and Toads. Mennonite Press. Newton, KS. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and J.T. Collins). 40 pp. * 2012. A Pocket Guide to Pennsylvania Salamanders. Mennonite Press. Newton, KS. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and J.T. Collins). 51 pp. * 2012. A Pocket Guide to Pennsylvania Turtles and Lizards. Mennonite Press. Newton, KS. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and J.T. Collins). 39 pp. Monographs * 2011. A Runaway Train in the Making: The Exotic Amphibians, Reptiles, Turtles, and Crocodilians of Florida. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, Monograph I, Vol. 6:1-101. (W.E. Meshaka Jr.). * 2015. The Herpetology of Southern Florida. (W.E. Meshaka Jr. and J.N. Layne). Herpetological Conservation and Biology 10(Monograph 5):1-353.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meshaka, Walter E. Jr. Living people University of South Florida alumni Arkansas State University alumni Florida International University alumni American herpetologists American people of Lebanese descent People from Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Year of birth missing (living people)