Michael Skibsted’s interest in turtles and wildlife conservation has earned him a 2025 Udall Scholarship. The University of Georgia undergraduate is one of 55 students across the nation being recognized for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment.
A third-year Honors student from Ladera Ranch, California, Skibsted is majoring in ecology in the Odum School of Ecology and biology in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. He has also received funding for his research from the UGA Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities.
The Udall Scholarship is awarded to sophomores and juniors on the basis of their commitment to careers in the environment, Native health care or Tribal public policy. The scholarship provides up to $7,000 for eligible academic expenses.
With the addition of Skibsted, UGA has had 10 Udall Scholars in the past 10 years.
“Michael is dedicated to the environment in so many ways, and we are proud of his recognition from the Udall Foundation,” said Meg Amstutz, dean of the Morehead Honors College. “From first-authoring a pond turtle manuscript to co-founding a turtle podcast, he has pursued his passion, and we are thankful for the faculty and programs that have supported him.”
Michael Skibsted catches a male common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) in one of Florida’s freshwater springs. Florida has more than 1,000 freshwater spring systems, a by-product of the massive Floridan aquifer. These systems are home to some of the most diverse turtle groupings — in terms of species richness and biomass — in the world. (Submitted photo)
After earning a Ph.D. in ecology or biology, Skibsted is looking forward to developing creative solutions to problems in the realm of conservation biology and ecology. He has a particular emphasis on turtle conservation and research. He is looking to apply what he learns from this fascinating group of animals to broader issues related to humans and the planet.
“There is a largely untapped reservoir of knowledge intrinsic to turtles that could apply to fields as broad as cancer research and hotspot mapping in conservation science to defining competition in ecology and better understanding normative ethics,” he said. Turtles, the most threatened group of vertebrates on the planet, “truly are an immense wealth of biological information, a window into the pressing issue of biodiversity loss and a cultural mediator and universal connector.”
Skibsted conducts research with John Maerz, Josiah Meigs Distinguished Professor of vertebrate ecology. He is first author on a journal article with Maerz on modeling pond turtle response to urbanization. With Zach Siders at the University of Florida and Eric Munscher at SWCA Environmental Consultants, Skibsted helped research and write a paper focused on developing a growth model of Florida softshell turtles.
In January 2022, he launched a podcast called the CheloniaCast and assembled a team of nine undergraduates from seven universities to help with production. He has conducted 149 hours of discussions focused on turtle research and broader scientific topics with 98 guests from more than 110 organizations. Guests so far have cumulatively written over 7,000 research papers, have been cited 375,376 times and have published more than 400 books.
Through this work, he and his team have created the most comprehensive audio log of turtle science available. The 71 available episodes have been downloaded more than 22,000 times with around 4,300 listener hours. Skibsted was able to use an Honors Domestic Experiential Learning Scholarship in 2024 to help fund it. He is constantly looking for partners to support the endeavor, he said, and hopes to turn the podcast framework into a turtle-focused ecotourism venture.
Michael Skibsted holds an adult female Central American river turtle (Dermatemys mawii) at the Belize Foundation for Research and Environmental Education research station in Toledo District, Belize. BFREE maintains a large colony of this critically endangered species that nests underwater and, to date, has produced about 1,000 hatchlings. (Submitted photo)
Skibsted also works with Russ Mittermeier, chief conservation officer for Re:wild, updating diversity metrics for turtles and other fauna in the Southeastern Coastal Plain biodiversity hotspot. With John Carr, professor emeritus at the University of Louisiana Monroe, he recently wrote a book chapter on snapping turtles for Lynx Nature Books’ “Handbook of the Reptiles of the World.”
Skibsted is currently co-author or first author on 13 scientific papers, published or in the review process, and has given 20 talks at professional symposia regarding turtle research.
In summer 2024, Skibsted worked as an environmental consultant with SWCA Environmental Consultants. He is a research assistant for the Turtle Conservancy and a summer field researcher in Belize for the Turtle Survival Alliance.
Skibsted is the youngest member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group, an American Junior Academy of Sciences Fellow in Residence and helped organize the Ninth Diamondback Terrapin Workshop. He is a member of the student-led UGA Herpetological Society and EcoReach UGA, which provides learning activities for students in Athens-Clarke County. Through the Council on International Educational Exchange, he studied abroad in Monteverde, Costa Rica, in fall 2023.
UGA’s Major Scholarships Office, housed in the Morehead Honors College, provides students across campus with assistance as they apply for national, high-level scholarships. For more information, contact Jessica Hunt at jhunt@uga.edu or visit https://honors.uga.edu/scholarships/external-scholarships/.
