Advisory Committee

Dr. David Wake

Berkeley, California, USA

Dr. Wake is a Professor in the Graduate School of Integrative Biology, and the Curator of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California at Berkeley, where he has been since 1969. In 1972 he became Director of the museum, serving continuously until 1999. Dr. Wake has authored more than 340 scientific papers and books and has received many honors including election to the National Academy of Sciences. The plight of amphibians around the world and implications of their decline and disappearance were first highlighted by Dr. Wake at a National Research Council workshop in 1990. He was a co-founder and first Director of the international Task Force on Declining Amphibian Populations, and is an active participant in the Global Amphibian Assessment. The general question that has driven Wake’s research career is how lineages diversify at different hierarchical levels during their evolution. The research focus is amphibians, especially salamanders. Special attention has been given to the largest family, the lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae), the only salamanders lineage that have thrived in tropical environments. Explanations for the surprising and extensive tropical invasion and subsequent radiation have led to generalizations about the nature of lineage diversification, factors responsible for structural and functional innovation, and adaptive radiations. He has studied salamanders in the field for nearly 50 years, focusing especially on Middle America. AmphibiaWeb was launched in 2000 under his leadership and he continues to direct it. More than 40 graduate students have received doctoral degrees under Wake's guidance, and he has sponsored many postdoctoral scholars; many of these have achieved prominence in herpetology and evolutionary biology. Dr. Wake was on the faculty of the University of Chicago prior to moving to Berkeley. He is married to herpetologist Marvalee Wake, a caecilian expert and professor at Berkeley, and their son Tom is a zooarchaeologist at UCLA. You can view Dr. Wake's CV here or read about his research here.

 

Dr. Graeme Worboys

Australian Capital Territory, Australia

Dr. Worboys is an international authority on protected area management, a field in which he has 34 years of experience. He is a joint editor of the book “Managing Protected Areas: A Global Guide” (published in 2006 by Earthscan and IUCN), and is the lead author of “Protected Area Management, Principles and Practice” (2nd edition; published by Oxford University Press). He has also published many journal papers on protected area management. Dr. Worboys is Vice Chair of the IUCN (World Conservation Union) World Commission on Protected Areas Mountains Biomes project, for which he is currently leading an international initiative dealing with the management of large scale connectivity conservation. He is a guest lecturer on protected area management at the University of Tasmania and has presented as the keynote speaker at several conferences. He has worked as a ranger, park superintendent, regional manager and executive director with the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service, and currently runs a consultant company which provides management specialist services for protected areas. Dr. Worboys’ doctoral thesis, which was completed in 2007, combined his practical experience with detailed research work to evaluate the effectiveness of various protected area management strategies.

 

Dr. Tim Halliday

The Open University, United Kingdom

Dr. Halliday is Professor in Biology at the Open University, a distance-teaching university. For most of his career he was interested in the reproductive biology of amphibians, studying sex and violence in newts, frogs and toads in the UK and South Africa. In an epiphanal moment, he decided that mass extinction among amphibians is more important than studying sperm competition in newts and thus he served as the International Director of the IUCN/SSC Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force (DAPTF) from 1994 to 2006. He is now working on a book that is likely to be called Vanishing Frogs (in 1978 he published a book called Vanishing Birds). He also produces a monthly compilation of recent publications on amphibian declines and conservation.

 

Dr. Andrew Crawford

Panama City, Panama

Dr. Crawford is a Postdoctoral Researcher with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in the Republic of Panama. He studies evolutionary genetics and biogeography of Neotropical frogs, with an emphasis on the Terrarana (former Eleutherodactylus) of Panama. Additional collaborations involve the systematics, phylogeography and conservation of frogs from Costa Rica, Colombia, Peru, and Cuba. His current work includes field surveys of amphibian diversity and monitoring the spread of the chytrid fungus into eastern Panama, as well as developing a reference library of DNA bar codes for Panamanian amphibians. He received his PhD in Evolutionary Biology from the University of Chicago after obtaining a dual BA in Zoology and German from UC Berkeley. Dr. Crawford's postdoctoral awards include an NSF International Programs fellowship, a Smithsonian Fellowship in Molecular Evolution, a Fulbright Scholarship and an appointment as visiting professor at the Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia. You can read more about Dr. Crawford's research at http://dna.ac

 

Dr. Doug Woodhams

Zürich, Switzerland

Dr. Woodhams is a research biologist specializing in disease ecology of amphibians. He obtained his Ph.D. in Zoology and Tropical Ecology at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland after graduating from Michigan State University with a B.Sc. in Zoology.  Currently at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, Dr. Woodhams teaches courses in Conservation Biology and Disease Ecology. His research focus is on amphibian innate immune defenses against chytridiomycosis in an effort to develop more effective in situ conservation management strategies. You can learn more about his research here, and view his CV here.  His research photo journal “Frogs of Panama” is available here. Doug spends his free time with his wife Audrey (a songwriter from Nashville) and son Abe.

 

Dr. Che Weldon

Potchefstroom, South Africa

Dr. Weldon is a Senior Lecturer in Zoology at North-West University and has conducted amphibian research in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Nigeria, Tanzania, Kenya and Madagascar. His research interests include amphibian conservation and the monitoring, parasitology, pathology and epidemiology of amphibian diseases. Dr. Weldon's research focuses on the role of the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) on amphibian declines in Africa and Madagascar. Some of his current projects include: (1) mapping the geographical distribution of Bd in Africa; (2) factors that facilitate the transmission and spread of Bd, including the frog trade; (3) developing biodiversity management plans for frogs that are threatened by Bd; (4) taxonomy of polystomatid flatworms of Malagasy frogs. Dr. Weldon obtained his B.Sc., B.Sc. Hons., and  M.Sc. from the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, and his Ph.D. from the North-West University in Potchefstroom. You can view his CV here.

 

Dr. Simon Hodgkison

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Dr. Hodgkison is a terrestrial wildlife ecologist with over ten years experience in ecological research and fauna monitoring. He conducted research with the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Rainforest Ecology and Management, investigating the ecology and behaviour of three endangered rainforest dwelling frogs (Litoria nannotis, Litoria rheocola and Nyctimystes dayi) whose populations experienced rapid declines in upland areas of North Queensland. He has also conducted research with the Cooperative Research Centre for Sustainable Tourism, assessing the ecological impacts of high-level tourist visitation in World Heritage listed subtropical rainforests of the Gold Coast hinterland. Dr. Hodgkison holds a PhD in ecology from Griffith University, where he worked within the Centre for Innovative Conservation Strategies. His thesis research investigated the capacity for small forest remnants on golf courses to provide refuge for wildlife that are threatened by urbanization. This research confirmed that golf courses can act as an important wildlife refuge provided they are designed appropriately and retain or rehabilitate sufficient habitat. For the last two years, Simon has been working as an ecologist with the engineering and environmental consulting firm GHD Pty Ltd. In this role he has conducted fauna surveys and provided ecological recommendations to reduce the impacts of infrastructure development and protect threatened wildlife habitat. He has recently become involved in the design and monitoring of fauna crossing infrastructure to reduce roadkill and potential barrier effects associated with road and rail infrastructure. You can view his CV here.

 

Dr. Matthew Fisher

London, United Kingdom

Dr. Fisher is an evolutionary biologist specialising in the molecular epidemiology of infectious fungi, and is a member of the Faculty of Medicine at the Imperial College in London. He has worked on the epidemiology of the amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis since 1999 and co-ordinates the European-wide surveillance of the pathogen and its associated disease, chytridiomycosis. Along with Dr. Dede Olson and collaborators at Imperial College, Dr. Fisher is developing the global B. dendrobatidis mapping-project by integrating ongoing surveillance, environmental and genetic databases. Dr Fisher has recently coordinated an EU-wide application to fund the project 'RACE: Risk Assessment of chytridiomycosis to European amphibians', with the specific aim of determining (1) the range of the pathogen, (2) the number of times that it has been introduced to Europe, and (3) developing the European Threat Abatement Plan (ETAP). His current laboratory projects focus on the genomics of B. dendrobatidis and mathematical modelling of the chytridiomycosis host/pathogen dynamics. Dr. Fisher has received funding from the Wellcome Trust, The Royal Society, NERC, BBSRC and the Leverhulme Trust. You can view his publications here.

 

Dr. Malcolm McCallum

Texarkana, Texas, USA

Dr. McCallum is an Associate Professor in Biology at Texas A&M University at Texarkana. His academic training is in conservation ecology, ecotoxicology, and evolutionary biology, and his publications encompass the ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. He has been comparing recent extinction rates in amphibians to those from the fossil record and examining how future climate change may influence reproduction, range extent, and persistence of amphibians and reptiles in North America. Dr. McCallum is the managing editor of Herpetological Conservation and Biology, a journal dedicated to the conservation and life history ecology of amphibians and reptiles. You can read more about his research here, and view his CV here.

 

Dr. Pieter Johnson

Boulder, Colorado, USA

Dr. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  His research focuses on two pervasive forms of biological change in aquatic ecosystems: disease emergence and species invasions.  Both have important consequences not only for individuals and populations but also for entire ecological communities and ecosystem services. Since 1996, Dr. Johnson has investigated the causes and consequences of limb deformities in North American amphibians, including missing, extra and severely misshapen limbs.  This research has highlighted the importance of Ribeiroia ondatrae, an emerging trematode pathogen that is highly sensitive to environmental change.  Additional projects include studies of (1) the interactions between invasive bullfrogs and the chytridiomycete, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and how they jointly affect western populations of the Northern leopard frog; (2) the influence of climate change on host-parasite interactions; and (3) how ongoing biodiversity losses affect pathogen transmission in multi-species communities. You can view Dr. Johnson's CV here or learn more about his research here.

 

Dr. Jaime Bertoluci

São Paulo, Brazil

Dr. Bertoluci is a senior lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of São Paulo (Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz), where he teachs Vertebrate Zoology, Animal Behavior and Comparative Herpetology to undergraduate students, and Fundamentals of Conservation Biology to graduate students in Applied Ecology. His research concentrates on the ecology and conservation of frogs and toads of the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest and Cerrado Domains. He has actively participated in several workshops on threatened species and on definition of areas for conservation, including the Global Amphibian Assessment.  Dr. Bertoluci also works on turtle ecology and conservation, and has served as editor-in-chief of Phyllomedusa - Journal of Herpetology since it was created in 2001. You can view his CV here (in Portuguese).

 

Dr. Erin Muths

Fort Collins, CO, USA

Dr. Muths is a research zoologist with the United States Geological Survey, and has been studying amphibian declines since 1995. Her current research projects include investigations into the use of habitat by boreal toads (Bufo boreas) and woodfrogs using radiotelemetry; long-term monitoring of populations; amphibian health; an investigation of the prevalence of chytrid fungus and its relation to boreal toad populations along the great divide transect; and capture-recapture methods development. Dr. Muths served as the National Coordinator for the Amphibian and Reptile Monitoring Initiative in 2003. She is an associate editor for Herpetological Conservation and Biology, a member of the boreal toad recovery team (Colorado Division of Wildlife), and an affiliate faculty member for Colorado State University. Dr. Muths received her Ph.D. from the University of Queensland, Australia where her dissertation focused on the physiological ecology of red kangaroos (Macropus rufus). You can read more about her research here and view her CV here.

 

Dr. Kirsten Parris

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Dr. Parris is a Research Fellow in the School of Botany, University of Melbourne. Her research focuses on the ecology and conservation biology of amphibians, the ecology of urban systems, bioacoustics and animal communication, and field survey methods. Her current research projects include: 1) the response of pond-breeding frogs to urbanization; 2) human-induced changes in the genetic structure of amphibian populations; 3) the impacts of traffic noise on acoustic communication in frogs and birds; and 4) optimal marking of vertebrates for conservation. Dr Parris received her PhD from the Australian National University, with a dissertation on the ecology of stream-breeding frogs in the sub-tropical forests of eastern Australia. You can read more about her research here.

 

Dr. Greg Ruthig

Tempe, AZ, USA

Dr. Ruthig is an assistant professor at Grinnell College in Iowa, USA and has conducted amphibian research in Virginia, South Carolina, and Arizona. His research interests include amphibian conservation and studying fungal and oomycete pathogens of amphibians. Dr. Ruthig's research focuses on the role of the amphibian chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) on amphibian declines in Arizona and the ecological role of oomycetes as pathogens of amphibian eggs.  Some of his current projects include: (1) community ecology of amphibian hosts that share Bd and the potential for reservoir hosts; (2) the dynamics of amphibian and non-amphibian hosts of oomycetes that infect amphibian eggs; (3) environmental changes, such as temperature and pollutants, that can change the dynamics between hosts and pathogens; (4) surveying viral and fungal pathogens of amphibians in northern Canada. Dr. Ruthig obtained his B.Sc. from Washington and Lee University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. You can view his CV here and learn more about his research here.

 

Dr. Todd Tupper

Alexandria, VA, USA

Dr. Tupper is an Assistant Professor of Zoology at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, Virginia, USA. He received a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from George Mason University in 2006. His dissertation work focused on the conservation and management of Fowler’s toad (Bufo fowleri) at Cape Cod National Seashore in Massachusetts. He is currently involved with a few projects at the National Seashore, including aiding in the development of a pattern mapping recognition program for B. fowleri, determining trends in oviposition site selection in B. fowleri and quantifying temporal variation in anuran detection probabilities for more effective long-term monitoring. Dr. Tupper will also be involved with telemetry of the eastern hognose snake (Heterodon platirhinos) in the Provincelands at Cape Cod National Seashore.

 

Dr. Paul Schaeffer

Oxford, Ohio, USA

Dr. Schaeffer earned his PhD from Northern Arizona University and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Zoology at Miami University in Ohio. He is a comparative physiologist interested in both evolutionary adaptation and environmental acclimation of energy metabolism in vertebrates, as well as the molecular regulation of energetic physiology. His organismal studies include the nature of rattlesnake tail-shaker muscle, seasonal acclimation to cold in grey short-tailed opossums, and the relationship between life history and energetics in numerous bird species. His laboratory work focuses on the role of daily activity in normal metabolic function. Dr. Schaeffer's work has been supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institute of Health and the National Science Foundation. He currently teaches undergraduate and graduate physiology courses at Miami University, and a study-abroad course in tropical biology in Panama. You can learn more about his research here.

 

Steven Whitfield

Miami, Florida, USA

Mr. Whitfield is a Ph.D. candidate at Florida International University in Miami. He is interested broadly in ecology and conservation of tropical amphibians. His dissertation research investigates a variety of factors associated with population declines of amphibians and reptiles in lowland forests of Costa Rica, including chytridiomycosis, habitat loss, and shifting climate. You can learn more about his research here.

 

Jeffrey Streicher

Arlington, Texas, USA

Mr. Streicher has conducted fieldwork work in Costa Rica, Mexico and the United States. His research focuses on the molecular biology and phylogenetic relationships of eleutherodactyline frogs of the genus Craugastor, and also includes physiological and ecological components. Mr. Streicher received a Master's degree in systematic and evolutionary biology from George Mason University, and is currently enrolled in the Quantitative Biology PhD program at the University of Texas at Arlington. When not in the lab, museum or field, he enjoys making strange noises emanate from guitars.

 

Ruth Young

Gold Coast, Australia

Ms. Young is interested in all things ecological and is presently in the final stages of writing her Ph.D. thesis, which examines the ecological responses of estuaries to urbanisation of coastal environments. Prior to pursuing postgraduate studies, she worked in marine eco-tourism for four years as a whale and dolphin watch guide in Moreton Bay, Australia. She has also assisted in monitoring the Southern Humpback whale population, which migrates along the east coast of Australia each year.

 

Christian Lentz

Durham, North Carolina, USA

Mr. Lentz is a Visiting Scholar in the Department of Sociology at Duke University and is currently writing a dissertation at Cornell University’s Department of Development Sociology. He holds masters degrees from both Cornell and from Yale University, where he studied at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. His research grows out of an early commitment to conservation to include interests in agriculture, forestry, and state formation in frontier areas of Southeast Asia. He has done extensive fieldwork in Indonesia and Vietnam and speaks both languages fluently. In Indonesia, Mr. Lentz's interests in nature-society relations led him to study teak forestry, protected area management, and agricultural adaptation to El Nino droughts. On this last project, he collaborated with local non-governmental organizations and with the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). In Vietnam, his interest in frontiers has led him to his current dissertation project: to explain the historical processes through which modern states simultaneously construct national space and incorporate people and place within their boundaries. His research in Vietnam was supported by the Fulbright Foundation. You can view his CV here.

 

John Peterson

Auburn, GA

Mr. Peterson is currently pursuing a Ph.D. at Auburn University. His research involves understanding how multiple environmental stressors, acting alone or synergistically, affect amphibian physiology. You can learn more about his research here.

 

Dr. James Webley

Gold Coast, Australia

Dr. Webley is an expert on estuarine ecology and ecosystem health. He has also been known to wander up moonlit streams in search of endangered frogs. You can view his CV here.

 

Dr. Vance Vredenburg

San Francisco, California, USA

Dr. Vredenburg is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at San Francisco State University. You can learn more about his research here.

 

Dr. Peter Daszak

New York, NY, USA

Dr. Daszak is the Executive Director of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, and is a world renowned expert on emerging infectious diseases of wildlife.

 

Dr. Monique Van Sluys

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Dr. Van Sluys is a senior lecturer in the Ecology Department at the University of Rio de Janeiro and has published over 70 scientific papers on herpetology. You can view her CV here.

 

Dr. David Marsh

Lexington, Virginia, USA

Dr. Marsh is an Associate Professor of Biology at Washington & Lee University, and has an expertise in salamander ecology.

 

Chris Dahl

Goroka, Papua New Guinea

Mr. Dahl is a herpetologist with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Papua New Guinea. He has discovered several previously unidentified amphibian species in the northern section of the country. You can view his CV here.

 

Dr. Guy Castley

Gold Coast, Australia

 

Dr. Kevin Weng

Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

 

Martin Cohen

Yorkeys Knob, Queensland, Australia

 

Julia Cooper

Yorkeys Knob, Queensland, Australia

 

David Hall

Gold Coast, Australia

 

Jason Vandemerwe

Gold Coast, Australia

 

Hum Gurung

Katmandhu, Nepal

 

Dawn Ell Fitzpatrick

Anchorage, Alaska, USA

 

Michael Chang

Reston, Virginia, USA

Mr. Chang holds a law degree from George Mason University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia. Mr. Chang provides SAVE THE FROGS! with valuable legal advice. He currently practices commercial law with Blankingship & Keith in northern Virginia.

 

 

Dedicated to environmental conservation?

If you are dedicated to environmental conservation, and feel you would be a valuable addition to our Advisory Committee, please send us your resume and a single paragraph describing how your skills or abilities would benefit SAVE THE FROGS!. Contact us here.