Susan Keall

Research interests

Sue’s main area of interest is in the conservation ecology of New Zealand reptiles, in particular the tuatara. She has expertise in tuatara husbandry, egg incubation, and translocation, and works closely with the Department of Conservation on the national tuatara conservation programme. Sue also raises awareness of conservation issues in New Zealand through presentations to public and school groups, using the tuatara as a focus.

Sue supports research and teaching in conservation ecology and field techniques, both in the School and the Allan Wilson Centre.

Selection of publications

Keall, S.N., Nelson, N.J. and Daugherty, C.H. 2010. Securing the future of threatened tuatara populations with artificial incubation. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 5(3): 555-562.

Miller, K.A., Gruber, M.A.M., Keall, S.N., Blanchard, B. and Nelson, N.J. 2010. Changing taxonomy and the need for supplementation in the management of re-introductions of Brothers Island tuatara in Cook Strait, New Zealand. In Global Re-introduction Perspectives: Additional case studies from around the globe. Soorae, P.S. (ed.). IUCN/SSC Re-introduction Specialist Group, Abu Dhabi, UAE, pp. 93-97.

Mitchell, N.J., F.W. Allendorf, S.N. Keall, C.H. Daugherty, and N.J. Nelson. 2010. Demographic effects of temperature-dependent sex determination: will tuatara survive global warming? Global Change Biology 16: 60-72.

Refsnider, J.M., Daugherty, C.H., Keall, S.N. and Nelson, N.J. 2010. Nest-site choice and fidelity in tuatara on Stephens Island, New Zealand. Journal of Zoology 280: 396-402.

Ramstad, K.M., Paine, G., Dunning, D.L., Geary, A.F., Keall, S.N. and Nelson, N.J. 2009. Effective partnerships between universities and indigenous communities: a case study in tuatara conservation in Aotearoa. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 39(4): 229-231.

Moore, J.A., Nelson, N.J., Keall, S.N. and Daugherty, C.H. 2008. Implications of social dominance and multiple paternity for the genetic diversity of a captive-bred reptile population (tuatara). Conservation Genetics 9(5): 1243-1251.