Metropolitan State University of Denver

Christopher R Cooley

Current Projects

My research focuses on the ecology of the Western Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) at high elevation sites in Southwestern Colorado. My students and I have been studying a unique population of Painted Turtles at a high-elevation lake (2100 m) near Durango Colorado since 1996. Past work on Chrysemys has included investigating the effect of diet composition on body size, demography of high-altitude populations, and geographic variation in life-history traits. Current research is focused on variation in body size along an elevational gradient and assessing the use of photo identification as a reliable, non invasive method of identifying individuals during long-term mark recapture studies

Selected Presentations

Predation among adult painted turtles (Chrysemys picta): Are females more at risk than males? (Presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the Colorado Academy of Science at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley)

Variation in growth rates between two populations of painted turtles (Chrysemys picta) from Colorado. (Presented at the 2003 annual meeting of the Colorado Academy of Science at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley)

Population ecology of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) from southwestern Colorado. (Presented at the 2001 annual meeting of the Colorado Academy of Science at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)

Diet of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) from southwestern Colorado. (Presented at the 2001 annual meeting of the Colorado Academy of Science at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs)

Morphological variation among parthenogenetic teiid lizards of the Cnemidophorus cozumela complex. (Presented at the 1992 annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles in El Paso, Texas)

Selected Publications

Cooley, C. R., S. A. Smith, C. J. Geier, and T. G. Puentes, 2014. The Use of Photo-Identification as a Means of Identifying Western Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta bellii) in Long-Term Demographic Studies. Herpetological Review (In Press)

Taylor, H. L., C. J. Cole, and C. R. Cooley. 2013. Origins and Evolution in the Aspidoscelis cozumela Complex of Parthenogenetic Teiid Lizards: Morphological and Karyotypic Evidence and Paradoxes. Journal of Herpetology (In review)

Cooley, C. R. and J. Miller 2011. Morphological variation in the Western Painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii).Herpetological Review (42)3:417

Cooley, C. R. 2007. Coloration in the western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii). Herpetological Review (38)3: 329.

Cooley, C. R., A. O. Floyd, A. Dollinger, and P.B. Tucker. 2003. Demography and diet of the painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) at high-elevation sites in southwestern Colorado. Southwestern Naturalist (48)1: 47-53.

Taylor, H. L. and C. R. Cooley. 1995. Patterns of meristic variation among parthenogenetic teiid lizards (genus Cnemidophorus) of the Yucatan peninsula and their progenitor species, C. angusticeps and C. deppei. Journal of Herpetology. 29: 583-592.

Taylor, H. L. and C. R. Cooley. 1995. A multivariate analysis of morphological variation among parthenogenetic teiid lizards of the Cnemidophorus cozumela complex. Herpetologica 51:67-76.

Taylor, H. L., C. R. Cooley, R. A. Aguilar, and C. J. Obana. 1992. Factors affecting clutch size in the teiid lizards Cnemidophorus tigris gracilis and C. t. septentrionalis. Journal of Herpetology. 26:443-447.

Educational Biography

M.S. Zoology (August, 1997)
Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado

B.S. Biology and Chemistry (May, 1992)
Regis College, Denver, Colorado
Magna Cum Laude, Honors Program

Professional Affiliations

Ecological Society of America
Southwestern Association of Naturalists
Colorado Wyoming Academy of Science
Society for the Study of Reptiles and Amphibians
TriBeta National Biological Honor Society

Courses Taught

BIO-1090,BIO-4550

Office Hours

Monday - [17:30 to 18:00]
Tuesday - [17:30 to 18:00]
Saturday - [08:00 to 09:00]

Current Semester Schedule