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email:  kennagy@biology.ucla.edu
phone:  (310) 825-8771
fax:  (310) 206-3987
office:  5217 LSB
lab:  LS 5230

research interests:  Ecological physiology of terrestrial vertebrates, especially desert reptiles.

Research Interests

Since retiring in 2006 and becoming a Research Professor, my research has moved away from Physiological Ecology and into the area of Conservation Biology. Specifically, my current work concerns the Threatened species Gopherus agassizii, the Desert Tortoise. We are doing Head-start studies at several specially-built hatchery-nursery installations located in natural habitat on military bases in the Mojave Desert of California. These projects involve protecting tortoise nests, eggs and juveniles from predators until they are big enough or old enough to fend for themselves, then they are released into the wild. We are examining many aspects of head-starting, including possible transmission of diseases from mother to eggs, ways to enhance growth so young tortoises can be released sooner, the possible involvement of temperature-dependent sex determination, minimum age/size needed for good survivorship of juveniles after release, best ways to handle egg-donor females to promote their continued survivorship and fecundity, and successful protocols (when, where, how) for releasing juveniles. The main goal is to overcome the 90-99 percent mortality that occurs in the early years of life among wild desert tortoises under natural conditions, and thereby make available many more sub-adult tortoises for recruitment. This strategy should help tortoise populations recover.

click here for Ken Nagy's publications
click here for Ken Nagy's curriculum vitae

Selected Publications

Martin, K., and K. Nagy. 2002. Animal physiology and global environmental change 2: 136-139 .

Salatas, J. H., P. C. Frederick, K. A. Nagy, and G. E. Williams.. 2002. Validation of the labeled-water method for estimating food consumption in nestling herons The Auk 119: 551-556 .

Lagarde, F., Bonnet, X., Nagy, K., Henen, B., Corbin, J., and Naulleau, G. 2002. A Short spring before a long jump: the ecological challenge to the steppe tortoise (Testudo horsfieldi) Canadian Journal of Zoology 80: 493-502 .

Henen, B.T.,K.A. Nagy,X. Bonnet, and F. Lagarde . 2002. Clutch size and fecundity of wild Horsfield's tortoises (Testudo Horsfieldi): time and body size effects Chelonii 3: 135-143 .

Nagy, K.A.. 2002. Dry, dry again Natural History 111: 50-55 .

Bonnet, X., F. Lagarde, B. T. Henen, J. Corbin, K. A. Nagy, G Naulleau, K. Balhoul, O. Chastel, A. Legrand and R. Cambag. 2001. Sexual dimorphism in steppe tortoises (Testudo horsfieldii): influence of the environment and sexual selection on body shape and mobility Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 72: 357-372 .

Nagy, K. A., G. l. Kooyman, and P. J. Ponganis. 2001. Energetic cost of foraging in free-diving Emperor Penguins Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 74: 541-547 .

Wilson, D. S., K. A. Nagy, C. R. Tracy, D. J. Morafka, and R. A. Yates. 2001. Water balance in neonate and juvenile desert tortoises, Gopherus agassizii Herpetological Monographs 15: 158-170 .

Nagy, K. A. 2001. Food requirements of wild animals: Predictive equations for free-living mammals, reptiles, and birds Nutrition Abstracts and Reviews, Series B 71: 21R-32R .

Lagarde, F., X. Bonnet, B. T. Henen, J. Corbin, K. A. Nagy, and G. Naulleau. 2001. Sexual size dimorphism in steppe tortoises (Testudo horsfieldi): growth, maturity, and individual variation Canadian Journal of Zoology 79: 1433-1441 .