Jeffrey Schwenter

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources

Address: SCDNR Marine Resources Division, 217 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412
Phone: 843.953.9038
E-mail: schwenterj@dnr.sc.gov



Education

M.S., Marine Biology, 2007, College of Charleston


Research Interests

  • Sea turtle ecology and conservation
  • Salt marsh ecology
  • Conservation and management of threatened species
  • Ecotoxicology and anthropogenic stressors of marine species

Current and planned research projects

  • SCDNR Marine Turtle Conservation Program (MTCP): sea turtle nest monitoring, stranding response and causality, public outreach
  • SCDNR In-water sea turtle research: analyzing factors influencing spatial/temporal distribution and trends in long-term abundance
  • Dynamics of juvenile sea turtle sex ratios
  • Diamondback terrapin ecology, habitat use, and fishery interactions

Publications

  • Arendt MD, Schwenter JA, Dingle J, Evans CA, Waldrop E, Czwartacki B, Fowler A, Whitaker JD. (submitted). A “BRD” in the hand worthy of four in the trap: Validation of optimal bycatch reduction device (BRD) size to maximize blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) entry and diamondback terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) exclusion through theoretical modeling and application. N Am J Fish Manag
  • Allen, CD, Robbins MN, Eguchi T, Owens DW, Meylan MB, Meylan, PA, Kellar NM, Schwenter JA, Nollens HH, LeRoux RA, Dutton PH, Seminoff JA. (2015) First assessment of the sex ratio for an East Pacific green sea turtle foraging aggregation: validation and application of a testosterone ELISA. PLoS ONE 10(10): e0138861. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0138861
  • Arendt MD, Schwenter JA, Segars AL, Byrd JI, Whitaker JD, Parker L. (2012) Temporal trends (2000–2011) and influences on fishery-independent catch rates for loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) at an important coastal foraging region of the Southeast U.S. Fish Bull 110(4):470–483.
  • Arendt MD, Boynton J, Schwenter JA, Segars AL, Byrd JI, Maier PP, Whitaker JD, Owens DW, Blanvillain G, Quattro JM, Roberts MA. (2012) Spatial clustering of loggerhead sea turtles in the Northwest Atlantic: implications for management surveys. Endang Species Res 18:219–231.
  • Arendt, MD, Schwenter JA, Segars AL, Byrd JI, Maier PP, Whitaker JD, Owens DW, Blanvillain G, Quattro JM, Roberts MA. (2012) Catch rates and demographics of loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) captured from the Charleston, South Carolina, shipping channel during the period of mandatory use of turtle excluder devices (TEDs). Fish Bull 110(1):98–109.
  • Blanvillain G, Schwenter JA, Day RD, Point D, Christopher SJ, Roumillat WA, Owens DW (2007) Diamondback terrapins (Malaclemys terrapin), as a sentinel species for monitoring mercury pollution of estuarine systems in South Carolina and Georgia, USA. Environmental Sci Tech 26(7):1441–1450.