Rowland Fournier, C’27, and Philip Gould, C’16, Collaborate on Research Project
Rowland Fournier, C’27, and Phillip Gould, C’16, recently collaborated on a research project with scientists at the Renewable Energy Wildlife Institute (REWI) and Appalachian State University. For the project, which focused on the distribution of freshwater turtles in agricultural and rural landscapes of the southeastern United States, the research team surveyed 64 sites in the Mississippi embayment and evaluated how surrounding land use, road density, and habitat type affected species' occupancy.
Both Fournier (pictured left) and Gould were mentored by Sewanee Professor of Biology Kristen Cecala. An environmental arts and humanities major from Birmingham, Alabama, Fournier began his research involvement while taking Cecala's Herpetology course last spring. A 2016 graduate of the College, Gould completed a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology and management at the School of Environment and Natural Resources at the Ohio State University in 2021. Gould currently works as a biologist with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), where he focuses on applied data science and project management. Gould's current research agenda centers on long term conservation of threatened and endangered species.
Cecala, Fournier, and Gould (pictured right), together with their other collaborators, authored and published an article titled “A Comparison of the Effects of Habitat Type and Human Influence on Occupancy of Freshwater Turtles” in the journal Wildlife Letters. Their article is featured on the cover of the June 2025 issue of the journal—which can be read here.
