William (Bill) Hawthorne

Bill is a sophomore at Eckerd College who has a great passion for herpetology. He has been an active member of the Goessling lab since February 2019 and has worked on a variety of projects.

Bill participates twice per semester in the long-term demographic freshwater turtle study at Rainbow River, weekly gopher tortoise surveys at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve and, in May of 2018, he began working on an independent research project.

The purpose of Bill’s independent project is to study the aerobic ability of water snakes (Nerodia clarkii) and how performance relates to immunity. He is hoping to continue studying biology throughout graduate school and working with reptiles and amphibians for the rest of his life.