Hannah Vander Zanden

@hanvanzan.bsky.social

782 Followers 340 Following

Associate professor. Academic mama. Sea turtles, animal migration, stable isotopes, ecology, and spatial processes. Comments are my own. she/her

A temporary sign (wood post in a bucket of concrete) in front of a UF building states: Caution nesting hawks may attack.
View of Nāhuku lava tube light with orange colored lights.
I am posing next to the water with three green turtles visible in the water.
Participants mingle at tables on a lawn with a dark sky, palm trees, and hotel in background.
Entrance of Kona International Airport
Long exposure photo of students sitting on the beach, facing the water and watching an olive ridley nest just after midnight.
Two students rebury Pacific green turtle nests in a hatchery.
Students sit in a half circle as a cooperative member tells his story and our local coordinator translates.
Students watch a nest of olive ridley hatchlings emerge under red light.
View of the site from highest point looking southwest.
The back of a large mannequin with traditional braids.
Take a screenshot of this GIF, and whichever new word you land on is your word for 2026. Let’s. Go. Your 2026 word: sloppy.
Selfie of me just after running 13.1 miles with a finish line in the background.
A letter from my provost. The key sentences say: I am pleased to inform you that the University of Florida Board of Trustees has approved your tenure. Your tenure and promotion to Associate Professor will be effective as of August 16, 2025.
My 6- and 9-year-old boys sit in front of a large tank with a loggerhead swimming by.
Chris Nolte, Aileen Lavelle, me, Liz Hurtado. Unfortunately, we missed Kate Davis and Ariadna Arnau.
Letters on land: HAnNAH
Carapace side of the sea turtle mug.
J’s picture next to red text that says, “Hey girl, I dig sea turtles too.”
Andrea Phillot, on behalf of nominees who could not be present, honors Tony Tucker who is pictured on the screen behind her.
A square plate containing fried plantains on the left and red red (bean stew) on the right.
At 5000 ppm, 1 in 8 breaths is rebreathed.
High of 8080 ppm on my Aranet4 CO2 monitor.
A gray cat sits on a window sill, and a tabby sits above her on a cat tree, with his paw hanging over to rest on her shoulder.
I am doing kettle bell swings at the gym while wearing a mask. Thanks to Traci T for the video.
Gray cat is laying on a kid’s bed.
Runners head down a tree-lined dirt road.
Beach toy borrow bin to keep plastics off the beach.
Sunrise over the ocean.
Students watch and photograph a dolphin in from a viewing window.
A glass pan filled flan that has already been cut into. The color is more tan colored than the typical ivory color.
Race swag: purple hoodie, purple heart medal, and a purple mug with the Mary Andrews marathon and half marathon logo.
Grand finale red tones.
Riverfront Park Pavilion and Great Northern Clock Tower behind leafless trees with pre-sunset light.
Single pine against a wintery forest backdrop.
Start of the trail with misty skies, rusty path, and towering cedars.
Sandhill cranes against a backdrop of blue sky and cumulus clouds. Bound by the Sky (Poem) Through fading light, we rise and soar, Across vast lands we’ve known before. Guided by stars, by wind, by earth, We chase the places of our birth. Our wings cut through the evening’s breath, A dance that skirts the edge of death. Fields now paved, rivers turned dry, Yet still we lift, we sing, we fly. Our call, a thread that binds the air, To skies we hold, to worlds we share. For every path may change and bend, But home’s a flight that has no end. Eternal Journey (Haiku) Skies stretch wide above, Ancient paths we rise to trace, Wings beat through the cold. Fields once soft and green, Now touched by man’s heavy hand, We search for lost homes. Calls echo through dusk, Threads of our timeless journey, Bound to shifting lands.
The title is: Shifting Currents, Soaring Risk: Climate Change, Ocean Currents, Seabird Survival.
A map of North America that depicts the density of bird strikes with planes, mostly correlated with the occurrence of large airports and human population density.
Migratory species drawing: Atlantic puffin
The front cover: "A graphic summary Is animal migration disappearing?" The last work is written in text that appears to be disappearing.
Man (labeled human race) holding woman's hand (labeled protecting migratory animals), looking at another woman (expanding agriculture and urbanization.
This painting represents the migration of zooplankton, as they undergo a daily vertical migration, traveling to the top of the surface during the night to feed on phytoplankton, and migrating to the bottom to avoid predators/being eaten. Along the top: The purple section with the cloud represents sunset. The dark blue sky represents nighttime with stars and fireworks. The orange-yellow-pink sky represents sunrise. Lastly the light blue sky with the sun represents the day. Below: Underneath each different time of day, is the correlative migration of zooplankton at that time of day.
A paper brochure titled 2025 Open Enrollment and a subtitle showing the open period was Oct 14-Nov 1.
Me wearing a large witch hat and green cloak with reading glasses, and attempting to look like Professor Mcgonagall.
An image of an email sent to CTURTLE listserv from Karen Bjorndal. It reads: Dear Friends and Colleagues, I am thrilled to announce that Dr. Hannah Vander Zanden will be the new Director of the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research at the University of Florida beginning in early January 2025. Hannah is now an Assistant Professor (soon to be promoted to Associate Professor) in the Department of Biology at the University of Florida. She brings exciting new research directions with substantial support, having just received a prestigious CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Hannah also is committed to expanding collaborations and developing new initiatives for outreach. The CTURTLE listserv and the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Program will continue under her guidance. I will retire from the University of Florida in mid-January 2025 after 51 years, which began with my graduate studies with Archie Carr. While I plan to remain in Gainesville and continue to mentor graduate students and pursue research and conservation projects after I retire, all responsibilities for leading the ACCSTR will pass to Hannah’s capable hands! I know you will join me in congratulating Hannah and offering her your support to continue our important work on behalf of sea turtles. Keep well, Karen
(a) Standard ellipses around 98 individual female hawksbill δ13C and δ15N values. Unique colors represent individuals. (b) A heat map of all scute layers from all turtles. Yellow indicates high overlap and purple indicates low overlap of stable isotope values across all scute layers