Susan Walls, Ph.D.
Susan Walls is a research wildlife biologist who serves as the coordinator and lead scientist for the southeastern region of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI).
ARMI is a national program for which funding was appropriated by Congress in 2000 in response to mounting evidence and concern for declines of amphibians in the U.S. and worldwide. Susan's research group establishes and implements long-term monitoring of amphibians at key sites within the southeastern U.S. (AL, GA, FL, SC, NC and TN) and conducts research on potential causes of declines. The team focuses on model-based monitoring to assess the impacts of climate change, emerging diseases, habitat restoration, and invasive species on amphibian communities.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 59
The significant surface-water connectivity of "geographically isolated wetlands"
We evaluated the current literature, coupled with our collective research expertise, on surface-water connectivity of wetlands considered to be “geographically isolated” (sensu Tiner Wetlands 23:494–516, 2003a) to critically assess the scientific foundation of grouping wetlands based on the singular condition of being surrounded by uplands. The most recent research on wetlands considered...
Authors
Aram J.K. Calhoun, David M. Mushet, Laurie C. Alexander, Edward S. DeKeyser, Laurie G. Fowler, Charles W. Lane, Megan W. Lang, Mark C. Rains, Stephen Richter, Susan C. Walls
Structured decision making as a conservation tool for recovery planning of two endangered salamanders
At least one-third of all amphibian species face the threat of extinction, and current amphibian extinction rates are four orders of magnitude greater than background rates. Preventing extirpation often requires both ex situ (i.e., conservation breeding programs) and in situ strategies (i.e., protecting natural habitats). Flatwoods salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi and A. cingulatum) are...
Authors
Katy O'Donnell, Arianne F Messerman, William J. Barichivich, Raymond D. Semlitsch, Thomas A. Gorman, Harold G Mitchell, Nathan L. Allan, Dante B. Fenolio, Adam Green, Fred A. Johnson, Allison Keever, Mark Mandica, Julien Martin, Jana Mott, Terry Peacock, Joseph Reinman, Stephanie S. Romañach, Greg Titus, Conor P. McGowan, Susan C. Walls
Species interactions and the effects of climate variability on a wetland amphibian metacommunity
Disentangling the role that multiple interacting factors have on species responses to shifting climate poses a significant challenge. However, our ability to do so is of utmost importance to predict the effects of climate change on species distributions. We examined how populations of three species of wetland-breeding amphibians, which varied in life history requirements, responded to a...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Life history plasticity does not confer resilience to environmental change in the mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)
Plasticity in life history strategies can be advantageous for species that occupy spatially or temporally variable environments. We examined how phenotypic plasticity influences responses of the mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum, to disturbance events at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (SMNWR), FL, USA from 2009 to 2014. We observed periods of extensive drought early in the...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Book review: Behavioral ecology of the eastern red-backed salamander: 50 years of research
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the British Ecological Society, Sutherland et al. (2013) identified 100 questions of fundamental significance in “pure” (i.e., not applied) ecology. A somewhat unexpected outcome of these authors’ exercise was the realization that, after 100 years of comprehensive, intensive scientific research, there remained “profound knowledge gaps” in...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Joseph C. Mitchell
Overcoming challenges to the recovery of declining amphibian populations in the United States
The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) affords many potential benefits to species threatened with extinction. However, most at-risk amphibians—one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups—remain unlisted under the provisions of the ESA, and many impediments to recovery exist for those species that have been listed. Of the 35 US amphibian species and distinct population segments (...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Lianne C. Ball, William J. Barichivich, Kenneth Dodd, Kevin M. Enge, Thomas A. Gorman, Katy O'Donnell, John G Palis, Raymond D. Semlitsch
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 59
The significant surface-water connectivity of "geographically isolated wetlands"
We evaluated the current literature, coupled with our collective research expertise, on surface-water connectivity of wetlands considered to be “geographically isolated” (sensu Tiner Wetlands 23:494–516, 2003a) to critically assess the scientific foundation of grouping wetlands based on the singular condition of being surrounded by uplands. The most recent research on wetlands considered...
Authors
Aram J.K. Calhoun, David M. Mushet, Laurie C. Alexander, Edward S. DeKeyser, Laurie G. Fowler, Charles W. Lane, Megan W. Lang, Mark C. Rains, Stephen Richter, Susan C. Walls
Structured decision making as a conservation tool for recovery planning of two endangered salamanders
At least one-third of all amphibian species face the threat of extinction, and current amphibian extinction rates are four orders of magnitude greater than background rates. Preventing extirpation often requires both ex situ (i.e., conservation breeding programs) and in situ strategies (i.e., protecting natural habitats). Flatwoods salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi and A. cingulatum) are...
Authors
Katy O'Donnell, Arianne F Messerman, William J. Barichivich, Raymond D. Semlitsch, Thomas A. Gorman, Harold G Mitchell, Nathan L. Allan, Dante B. Fenolio, Adam Green, Fred A. Johnson, Allison Keever, Mark Mandica, Julien Martin, Jana Mott, Terry Peacock, Joseph Reinman, Stephanie S. Romañach, Greg Titus, Conor P. McGowan, Susan C. Walls
Species interactions and the effects of climate variability on a wetland amphibian metacommunity
Disentangling the role that multiple interacting factors have on species responses to shifting climate poses a significant challenge. However, our ability to do so is of utmost importance to predict the effects of climate change on species distributions. We examined how populations of three species of wetland-breeding amphibians, which varied in life history requirements, responded to a...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Life history plasticity does not confer resilience to environmental change in the mole salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)
Plasticity in life history strategies can be advantageous for species that occupy spatially or temporally variable environments. We examined how phenotypic plasticity influences responses of the mole salamander, Ambystoma talpoideum, to disturbance events at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (SMNWR), FL, USA from 2009 to 2014. We observed periods of extensive drought early in the...
Authors
Courtney L. Davis, David Miller, Susan C. Walls, William J. Barichivich, Jeffrey W. Riley, Mary E. Brown
Book review: Behavioral ecology of the eastern red-backed salamander: 50 years of research
In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the British Ecological Society, Sutherland et al. (2013) identified 100 questions of fundamental significance in “pure” (i.e., not applied) ecology. A somewhat unexpected outcome of these authors’ exercise was the realization that, after 100 years of comprehensive, intensive scientific research, there remained “profound knowledge gaps” in...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Joseph C. Mitchell
Overcoming challenges to the recovery of declining amphibian populations in the United States
The US Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) affords many potential benefits to species threatened with extinction. However, most at-risk amphibians—one of the most imperiled vertebrate groups—remain unlisted under the provisions of the ESA, and many impediments to recovery exist for those species that have been listed. Of the 35 US amphibian species and distinct population segments (...
Authors
Susan C. Walls, Lianne C. Ball, William J. Barichivich, Kenneth Dodd, Kevin M. Enge, Thomas A. Gorman, Katy O'Donnell, John G Palis, Raymond D. Semlitsch