Trevor Persons

Trevor has worked as a field herpetologist since 1989, primarily in and near Arizona, but also in Maine where he and his family currently reside. While based at CPRS from 1997 to 2005 Trevor co-led (with Dr. Erika Nowak, CPRS) herpetofauna inventories at over a dozen National Parks throughout the Southwest. Other projects conducted during that period included studies of amphibian and reptile road mortality and whiptail lizard ecology at Wupatki National Monument, a long-term mark-recapture study of lizard populations in grasslands east of Flagstaff, and distributional studies of whiptail lizards throughout Arizona. Since moving (temporarily) back to his home state of Maine in 2005 Trevor has continued to collaborate with CPRS and USGS staff on field and writing projects focused on the herpetology of the Colorado Plateau and surrounding areas. In Maine, his work includes field studies of spotted turtles and black racers, and he helps coordinate the state’s amphibian and reptile atlas project.

Selected Publications:

Graham, T.B., T. Persons, W. Schaedla, and D. Moore. 1995. Temperature patterns of rattlesnakes at Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah. Pages 255–274 In C. van Riper III, editor. Proceedings of the Second Biennial Conference on Research in Colorado Plateau National Parks. Transactions and Proceedings Series NPS/NRNAU/NRTP-95/11.

Persons, T., and J.W. Wright. 1999. Discovery of Cnemidophorus neomexicanus in Arizona. Herpetological Review 30:207–209.

Persons, T.B. 2005. Distribution and habitat association of the Little Striped Whiptail (Cnemidophorus inornatus) at Wupatki National Monument, Arizona. USGS Open-File Report OF 2005-1139. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Flagstaff, Arizona.

Persons, T.B., and E.M. Nowak. 2006. Inventory of amphibians and reptiles at Death Valley National Park. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Colorado Plateau Research Station, Open-File Report 2006-1233.

Persons, T.B., and E.M. Nowak. 2007. Inventory of amphibians and reptiles at Mojave National Preserve. U.S. Geological Survey, Southwest Biological Science Center, Colorado Plateau Research Station, Open-File Report 2007-1109.

Persons, T.B., E.M. Nowak, and D.G. Mikesic. 2008. Overview of herpetofauna inventories in southern Colorado Plateau National Parks. Pages 197–218 In C. van Riper III and M.K. Sogge, editors. The Colorado Plateau III: Integrating Research and Resources Management for Effective Conservation. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Persons, T.B., and J.W. Wright. 2009. Family Teiidae: Whiptails and Their Allies. Pages 322–325 In L.L.C. Jones and R.E. Lovich, editors. Lizards of the American Southwest. Rio Nuevo Publishers, Tucson, Arizona.

Persons, T.B., and M. Petrucha. 2009. First record of Kirtland’s Warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) for Maine. North American Birds 63:345–347.

Nowak, E.M., and T.B. Persons. 2010. Milksnakes at Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona: Adaptive monitoring of rare vertebrates. Pages 133–149 In C. van Riper III, B. K. Wakeling, and T. D. Sisk, editors. The Colorado Plateau IV: Shaping Conservation through Science and Management. University of Arizona Press, Tucson.

Persons, T.B., M.J. Feldner, and R.A. Repp. 2016. Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus). Pages 461–505 In G.W. Schuett, M.J. Feldner, C.F. Smith, and R.S. Reiserer, editors. The Rattlesnakes of Arizona, Volume 1. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

Persons, T.B., A.G. Stengle, D.T. Yorks, and P.G. deMaynadier. 2017. Snake fungal disease from Maine, USA, and an update of documented occurrences in the United States. Herpetological Review 48:62–63.

Persons, T.B., and J.D. Mays. 2017. Past and present distribution of the North American Racer (Coluber constrictor) in Maine. Herpetological Review 48:147–151.

Rosen, P.C., T.B. Persons, R.L. Bezy, and C.J. Cole. 2019. The Little Striped Whiptail Lizard (Aspidoscelis inornatus) in Arizona: the fall of the Apaches and the rise of unisexuals. Sonoran Herpetologist 32:70–92.

Persons, T.B. 2020. Aspidoscelis laredoensis (Laredo Striped Whiptail) apparent population decline. Herpetological Review 51:119–120.

Walker, J.M., T.B. Persons, B.K. Sullivan, C.A. Drost, and J.E. Cordes. 2020. Body sizes in upper elevation populations of whiptail lizards: Aspidoscelis inornatus (Squamata: Teiidae) in central and northern Arizona, USA. Herpetological Review 51:212–214.

Persons, T.B., and A.T. Holycross. 2020. Arizona elegans (Glossy Snake). Pages 94–102 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

Persons, T.B., and C.A. Drost. 2020. Coluber constrictor (North American Racer). Pages 126–142 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

Persons, T.B., T.B. Cotten, D.J. Leavitt, S. Ruane, and E.M. Nowak. 2020. Lampropeltis triangulum (North American Milksnake). Pages 227–239 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

Persons, T.B. 2020. Crotalus molossus (Black-tailed Rattlesnake). Pages 544–555 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

Persons, T.B., G.C. Carpenter, and A.T. Holycross. 2020. Crotalus oreganus (Western Rattlesnake). Pages 556–578 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.

O’Donnell, R.P., T.B. Persons, E.W.A. Gergus, and A.T. Holycross. 2020. Crotalus viridis (Prairie Rattlesnake). Pages 626–641 In A.T. Holycross and J.C. Mitchell, editors. The Snakes of Arizona. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, New Mexico.
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