I am a zoologist and conservationist based out of California who is currently a biology masters student at California State Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo. For my master's, I am working in Dr. Emily Taylor's Physiological Ecology of Reptiles Laboratory (PERL) on Project RattleCam (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC535H_ogEQbBwfXNDMr4Wtw), where I am studying Prairie Rattlesnake thermoregulatory behaviors at den sites and the use of live-streaming wildlife cameras focused on snakes as educational tools in schools. I received my B.S. in Zoology from the University of California, Santa Barbara in the spring of 2022. Reptiles, amphibians, and birds are my main taxonomic interests, but I also try to learn about local botany and work with mammals whenever I get the chance. I am interested in several research fields as they relate to wildlife conservation, including community ecology, spatial ecology, ethology, biogeography, and population biology. In addition to my work with PERL, I occasionally assist the Southwestern Herpetologist Society with field surveys and write articles for its newsletter. In the past, I have served as a IMBCR field technician in Colorado for the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies, an intern for the Crocodile Research Coalition, a volunteer for the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER), a Snowy Plover Docent and Reserve Intern at Coal Oil Point Reserve, a field technician and lab assistant for the Briggs Lab at UCSB, a general volunteer for the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association, and a student keeper at the Los Angeles Zoo.

My greatest passion is learning about and caring for wild animals and the ecosystems that they are a part of. In my opinion, there is nothing more important in our modern world than restructuring our relationship with the natural world and giving back as much as we can to the environment. In addition to my passion for wildlife conservation, I am also a nature photographer at heart who loves to explore open spaces and photograph the wild inhabitants that I find there. I post my nature photography to FLICKR so that others can enjoy my images (See the websites page on this site to access my FLICKR account). I am also a strong supporter and advocate for citizen science programs and regularly INaturalist and occasionally Ebird, Herpmapper, and NAHERP.

Besides being a nature enthusiast, I am also a jazz saxophonist who just can’t stop swinging! I live and breath this music and could not see myself without it. My favorite jazz artisits are Louis Armstrong, the Count Basie Orchestra, Sidney Bechet, Ben Webster, Hank Mobley, the Duke Ellington Orchestra, and Ella Fitzgerald. I have occasionally played at notable venues in my college and high school jazz bands, including the Vitellos in North Hollywood, California, the Central Avenue Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, and the Playboy Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl.

This site showcases me, and everything that I do. If you would like to learn more about me, you have come to the right place. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can help you with or you would like to meet up.

Don’t forget to live to the Max!

Sincerely,

Max Roberts