Biography
Born in Sevilla, Spain, I became interested in zoology (cool creatures!) early on in my childhood as I was moving to Madrid, Toledo, and Murcia. During my youth, largely in Murcia, I spent most of my weekends and summers hiking with the Boy Scouts of Spain and learning about nature. At this time, I also joined the environmentalist organization Asociacion de Naturalistas del Sureste and became involved in bird banding, amphibian surveys, and general conservation issues in Murcia and neighboring areas. While finishing college studies in Sevilla, I was interested in ornithology postgraduate studies on the ecology of wading birds in the Southwest of Spain. In 1988 however, I moved to the USA, University of South Florida (Tampa), where I pursued my graduate degrees and developed my passion for amphibians and reptiles. When I discovered how “cool” (no pun intended) “herps” are, I never looked back! In Florida, I spent 12 years soaking in the state’s amazing biodiversity and, at the same time, saddened by its unbridled agricultural and especially urban growth. In 2002, I moved to Pennsylvania where I am happily teaching and doing research on species that I love, especially Eastern Box Turtles, and lately snakes.
Courses Taught
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Education
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*Summer Course at Chincoteague Bay Field Station |
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Publications and Honors
Dallas, J, Walter E. Meshaka, Jr. and Pablo R. Delis. 2021. Evidence of Intraguild Predation in a Snake Assemblage: Biggers Seems Better. Northeastern Naturalist 28(3): 248-260.
Meshaka, W. E. Jr, W. S. Humbert, Pablo R. Delis, and Eugene Wingert. 2021. Gonadal Cycles and Growth to Sexual Maturity of the Eastern American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus americanus (Holbrook, 1836) from Pennsylvania. Annals of Carnegie Museum 87(3): 221-234.
Dallas, J, Walter E. Meshaka, Jr. and Pablo R. Delis. 2021. The Natural History of the Black Racer (Coluber constrictor constrictor) in South-Central Pennsylvania. Journal of North America Herpetology 1: 29-35.
McCoy, E. D., Pablo. R. Delis, and H. R. Mushinsky. 2021. The importance of determining species sensitivity to environmental change: a tree frog example. Ecosphere. 12(5):e03526. 10.1002/ecs2.3526
Delis, R. Pablo, Earl D. McCoy, and Henry R. Mushinsky. 2020. Observations of Post-Breeding Migration of Hyla gratiosa (Barking Treefrog) Adults. Herpetological Review, 51(4): 690–694.
Meshaka, W. E. Jr, W. S. Humbert, M. L. Mccallum, and Pablo R. Delis. 2020. Loss of Habitat Leads to Bigger Toads and Bigger Eggs: Natural Area Management Predictions for the Eastern American Toad, Anaxyrus americanus americanus (Holbrook, 1836). Annals of Carnegie Museum 86(1): 77-88.
Delis, R. Pablo, and W. E. Meshaka, Jr. 2019. The herpetofauna of Wallops Island, Accomack County, Virginia: A case study of a vulnerable community. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Sciences, 93(2): 132-161.
Hughes, D. F., Pablo R. Delis, and Walter E. Meshaka. 2019. Comparison of body temperatures across physiological states in syntopic snake species (Thamnophis sirtalis and Nerodia sipedon) from Pennsylvania. Northeastern Naturalist 26(4): 749-760.
Hughes, Daniel, F., Pablo R. Delis, and W.E. Meshaka, Jr. 2018. Studies of a snake assemblage from artificial ponds at an active-military site in Pennsylvania. Herpetological Notes, 11: 34-48.
Meshaka, W., E. Wingert, W. Humbert, M. Mccallum, and P. R. Delis. 2017. Gonadal cycles, clutch characteristics, and growth to sexual maturity in the American toad, Anaxyrus americanus (Holbrook), from an agricultural belt in south-central Pennsylvania. Journal of the Pennsylvania Academy of Science, 91(2): 84-94.
Hughes, Daniel, F., W.E. Meshaka, Jr, and Pablo R. Delis, Accepted for Publication 2017. Reproduction and Growth of the Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1886), in Virginia: Implications for Seasonal Shifts in Response to Global Climate Change. Basic and Applied Herpetology, 31: 17-31.
Meshaka, W.E. Jr., L. Long, A. Tegeler, W.S. Humbert, and Pablo R. Delis. 2016. Reproductive phenophases of the American Toad, (Anaxyrus americanus Holbrook, 1836), in the Ligonier Valley of Southwestern Pennsylvania. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society, 52(1-4): 23-37.
Meshaka, W.E. Jr., E. Wingert, T. Frey, M. Roberts, C. Zwemer, S.R. Bartle, N.A. Davidson, Pablo R. Delis, and G.R. Cline. 2015. Confirmation of species identity, body sizes, and clutch characteristics of the eastern gray treefrog (Hyla versicolor LeConte, 1825) from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. Collinsorum, 4(1): 12-15.
Delis, Pablo R., W.E. Meshaka, Jr, E. Wingert, and S. Bartle 2015. A test of reproductive advantage in two competitive mole salamanders (Caudata: Ambystomatidae) from a single site in south-central Pennsylvania. Basic and Applied Herpetology, 29: 21-31.
Meshaka, W.E. Jr., S.I. Williams, E. Wingert, and Pablo R. Delis. 2015. Adult body sizes and clutch characteristics of the marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum) from Letterkenny Army Depot in south-central Pennsylvania. Collinsorum, 4(3): 10-12.
Meshaka, W.E. Jr., V.R. Rep, Pablo R. Delis, and E. Wingert. 2015. Selected life history traits of the Bullfrog, Lithobates catesbeianus (Shaw, 1802), and the Green Frog, L. clamitans melanota (Latreille, 1801) at a park in south-central Pennsylvania: geographic and interspecific comparisons. Collinsorum, 4(3): 13-18.
Meshaka, Walter E., Jr., Pablo R. Delis, and Katie Walters.2015. Geographic variation in selected life history traits of the Eastern Narrowmouth Toad, Gastrophryne carolinensis (Holbrook, 1836), along the northeastern edge of its geographic range. The Journal of North American Herpetology 2015(1): 1-5.
Meshaka, Walter E. Jr. and Pablo R. Delis. 2014. Snake Assemblage Structures and Seasonal Activity Patterns on a Military Base in South-Central Pennsylvania: Land Management Implications for Snake Conservation. The Journal of North American Herpetology 2014(1): 7-20.
Meshaka, E. Walter Jr., Stephanie I. Williams, Sarah R. Bartle, Pablo R. Delis, and Eugene Wingert. 2013. Breeding and Larval Growth of the Marbled Salamander, Ambystoma opacum (Gravenhorst, 1807), From Two Adjacent Sites in South-Central Pennsylvania. Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society, 49: 22-29.