Publications

We believe the 20 species extinction metric is a retrograde proposal, which does not adequately consider the lessons learnt from the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Whilst having a single simple overarching target is appealing, we believe a positively-framed target will garner support, rather than one that aims to, at best, limit negative impacts. The Convention on Biological Diversity’s zero dra

Invertebrates are well-known predators of amphibians with many documented cases of spiders preying upon anurans (reviewed in Toledo 2005. Herpetol. Rev. 36:395–400). Wolf spiders are known to feed on a variety of frogs, including those in the genus Acris (Blackburn et al. 2002. Herpetol. Rev. 33:299). Although typically terrestrial, wolf spiders have been found feeding on arboreal frogs ca. 1 m ab

Snake fungal disease (SFD), or ophidiomycosis, is caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola (Allender et al. 2015; Lorch et al. 2015). SFD is widespread across wild populations in the eastern United States (Lorch et al. 2016) and is known to infect more than 30 species of snake in North America and Europe (Lorch et al. 2016; Franklinos et al. 2017). No known phylogenetic or ecological pattern

Recursive movement patterns have been used to detect behavioral structure within individual movement trajectories in the context of foraging ecology, home-ranging behavior, and predator avoidance. Some animals exhibit movement recursions to locations that are tied to reproductive functions, including nests and dens; while existing literature recognizes that, no method is currently available to exp

Most wetlands have been subject to changes in flooding regimes by climate change and human activities, resulting in widespread alteration of wetland plants at different organizational levels. However, scaling the responses of wetland plants to changes in flooding regimes is still challenging, because flooding could indirectly affect wetland plants through affecting environment factors (e.g. soil p

The ecological effects of tropical cyclones on mangrove forests are diverse and highly location- and cyclone-dependent. Ecological resistance, resilience, and enhancement are terms that describe most mangrove forest responses to tropical cyclones. However, in the most extreme cases, tropical cyclones can trigger abrupt and irreversible ecological transformations (i.e., ecological regime shifts). H

As most species live in seasonal environments, considering varying conditions is essential to understand species dynamics in both geographic and ecological spaces. Both resident and migratory species need to contend with seasonality and balance settling in favorable areas with tracking favorable environmental conditions during the year. We present an exploratory framework to jointly investigate a

Barrier islands, headlands, and coastal shorelines provide numerous valuable ecosystem goods and services, including storm protection and erosion control for the mainland, habitat for fish and wildlife, salinity regulation in estuaries, carbon sequestration in marshes, and areas for recreation and tourism. These coastal features are dynamic environments because of their position at the land-sea in

Dauphin Island is a barrier island located in the northern Gulf of Mexico and serves as the only barrier island providing protection to much of the State of Alabama’s coastal natural resources. The ecosystem spans over 3,500 acres of barrier island habitat including, beach, dune, overwash fans, intertidal wetlands, maritime forest and freshwater ponds. In addition, Dauphin Island provides protecti

 In highly mobile philopatric species, defining the scale of natal homing is fundamental to characterizing population dynamics and effectively managing distinct populations. Genetic tools have provided evidence of regional natal philopatry in marine turtles, but extensive sharing of maternally inherited mitochondrial control region (CR) haplotypes within regions (<500 km) often impedes identificat

Understanding trends in abundance is important to fisheries conservation, but techniques for estimating streamwide abundance of cryptic fishes with strong habitat–abundance relationships are not well established and need further development. We developed techniques for addressing this need using the Harlequin Darter Etheostoma histrio, a small, cryptic freshwater fish associated with submerged woo