1. Climate change.
I am interested in understanding how tropical amphibians and reptiles respond to climate change at the species, population, and community levels. My work has shown that species and population responses to climatic factors can be variable across the landscape, suggesting responses can be local and not applicable across a species range. I am most interested in how changes in rainfall, i.e. timing, extreme events, and long-term trends, impacts population trends and community structure.
2. Leaf litter amphibian and reptile ecology.
The leaf litter of tropical forest is a fascinating and species rich habitat, and home to many species of amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians and reptiles use the leaf litter as daily refugia, egg laying sites, and to feed on the rich variety of invertebrates. In addition, some frogs and lizards become prey for larger invertebrates such as spiders and centipedes, as well as snakes, birds, and other larger vertebrates. Thus, the leaf litter represents an interface among trophic levels.
A tropical leaf litter amphibian and reptile assemblage can consist of up to 20 species providing the opportunity to address many questions related to community ecology, species interactions, and diversity maintenance. I utilize a combination of leaf litter plots and transects to investigate the local and regional diversity patterns and community changes over time. Tropical leaf litter is a dynamic habitat that changes seasonally, but is also subject to changes from annual weather variability and long-term climate change. My research is concerned with understanding the annual variation of leaf litter amphibian and reptile community diversity and abundance, habitat predictors of diversity, and assessing how resilience this community is to large and small scale disturbances.
3. Search for missing frogs in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has been the epicenter to understanding the amphibian decline crisis. Costa Rica has a long history of amphibian research and the decline of the amphibian fauna was well documented in the 1980s and early 1990s as the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) swept through the country. An estimated 17 previously abundant or easily detected species disappeared by the mid-1990s, along with many populations, and an undetermined number of rare or undescribed species. Bd persists in the environment and infects and causes mortality for years after the initial outbreak creating important problems for conservation of missing or endangered amphibian species.
In the early 2000s, in collaboration with Costa Rican researchers, we began a project to survey for the 17 species of frogs that disappeared in the 1980s and early 1990s. The goal was to determine if the 17 species that were abundant or easily detected prior to the Bd outbreak had survived in hidden refugia; or determine if populations may have persisted at very low levels avoiding detection for 20 years following the initial declines. This work has uncovered six species of frogs that were undetected for up to 25 years providing evidence that they did not go extinct, but survived the outbreak and are now at levels of detection. This is exciting because it shows some species that went missing for decades survived and are apparently showing signs of natural recovery.
I am interested in understanding how tropical amphibians and reptiles respond to climate change at the species, population, and community levels. My work has shown that species and population responses to climatic factors can be variable across the landscape, suggesting responses can be local and not applicable across a species range. I am most interested in how changes in rainfall, i.e. timing, extreme events, and long-term trends, impacts population trends and community structure.
2. Leaf litter amphibian and reptile ecology.
The leaf litter of tropical forest is a fascinating and species rich habitat, and home to many species of amphibians and reptiles. Amphibians and reptiles use the leaf litter as daily refugia, egg laying sites, and to feed on the rich variety of invertebrates. In addition, some frogs and lizards become prey for larger invertebrates such as spiders and centipedes, as well as snakes, birds, and other larger vertebrates. Thus, the leaf litter represents an interface among trophic levels.
A tropical leaf litter amphibian and reptile assemblage can consist of up to 20 species providing the opportunity to address many questions related to community ecology, species interactions, and diversity maintenance. I utilize a combination of leaf litter plots and transects to investigate the local and regional diversity patterns and community changes over time. Tropical leaf litter is a dynamic habitat that changes seasonally, but is also subject to changes from annual weather variability and long-term climate change. My research is concerned with understanding the annual variation of leaf litter amphibian and reptile community diversity and abundance, habitat predictors of diversity, and assessing how resilience this community is to large and small scale disturbances.
3. Search for missing frogs in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica has been the epicenter to understanding the amphibian decline crisis. Costa Rica has a long history of amphibian research and the decline of the amphibian fauna was well documented in the 1980s and early 1990s as the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) swept through the country. An estimated 17 previously abundant or easily detected species disappeared by the mid-1990s, along with many populations, and an undetermined number of rare or undescribed species. Bd persists in the environment and infects and causes mortality for years after the initial outbreak creating important problems for conservation of missing or endangered amphibian species.
In the early 2000s, in collaboration with Costa Rican researchers, we began a project to survey for the 17 species of frogs that disappeared in the 1980s and early 1990s. The goal was to determine if the 17 species that were abundant or easily detected prior to the Bd outbreak had survived in hidden refugia; or determine if populations may have persisted at very low levels avoiding detection for 20 years following the initial declines. This work has uncovered six species of frogs that were undetected for up to 25 years providing evidence that they did not go extinct, but survived the outbreak and are now at levels of detection. This is exciting because it shows some species that went missing for decades survived and are apparently showing signs of natural recovery.