ecology - conservation - disease
News
2024
7 March 2024- I had a great time attending the Rocky Mountain National Park Biennial Research Conference hosted by the Rocky Mountain Conservancy. I shared results from our work on boreal toad resistance and tolerance and our research's implications for conservation and management of the species in the Park and beyond. Thank you to all the members of the public, government, academia, and non-profit who were interested in our research!
6 January 2024- Several from the Lopes lab attended the SICB meeting in Seattle this week. We had a wonderful time presenting our research, interacting with the diverse array of scientists, catching up with old friends, meeting new people, and getting re-invigorated for all the research ahead this year!
2023
15 December 2023- Our first large infection experiment at Chapman University has come to a close. We have begun processing multiple sample types, and have sent out extractions for RNAseq. We could not have pulled off this experiment without the work from our amazing undergraduate researchers! Early next semester we are starting round 2, stay tuned!
1 October 2023- My second PhD chapter is up as a pre-print here while simultaneously submitted to a journal and in-review! We explored the differences in host defense mechanisms among populations of boreal toads in a common garden infection experiment. We found that boreal toads from populations in Wyoming are both more tolerant and more resistant than those sourced from Colorado using a flexible multi-state modeling approach. Our findings help explain the apparent dichotomy of population decline severity between the two regions and highlight the importance of quantifying intraspecific variation in host responses to disease. These results will inform management decisions on captive breeding, translocations, and reintroductions of boreal toads as managers seek to bolster populations with more tolerant or resistant individuals.
7 September 2023- Our paper led by Daryl Trumbo and I on the conservation and landscape genomics of boreal toads in Colorado was accepted in Molecular Ecology! This study provides vital information on connectivity and genomic structure of remaining boreal toad populations and aid wildlife managers with conservation decisions about translocations, captive breeding, and reintroductions. So happy to have the paper cross the finish line. Check it out here.
6 September 2023- After weeks of preparation, we started our first of a series of infection experiments today in hopes of better understanding how uninfected individuals perceive disease risk from infected conspecifics. Our aim is to determine how the anticipation of becoming infected changes individual behavior, physiology, and immunology.
2 June 2023- Absolutely thrilled to announce that I have accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Researcher with Dr. Patricia Lopes' lab at Chapman University in Orange, California!! For the next two years, we'll be investigating the effects of disease on the physiology and behavior both infected and uninfected hosts through the lens of 'disease risk'. I am super excited to gain expertise in eco-physiology and eco-immunology techniques and grow my training as an undergraduate mentor in Dr. Lopes' undergraduate-led research program! I'm also looking forward to being 'home' for awhile and exploring natural, cultural, and gastronomic diversity of the Southland!
16 May 2023- I am #PhDone !!! Within several days I passed my PhD private defense and was hooded at commencement. I am very excited for whats next...more details soon.
14 April 2023- I gave my PhD Exit Seminar talk to friends, family, mentors, collaborators, and colleagues! You can watch a recording of the seminar here.
24 March 2023- My Leadership Fellow cohort finished our last workshop for the fellowship and learned more about how science is used in federal policy and how scientists can communicate with policymakers.
8 March 2023- I updated a variety of academic, agency, and private stakeholders on our research at the Boreal Toad Conservation Team meeting in Colorado Springs. Great discussions on moving boreal toad conservation forward!
24 February 2023- I presented my research on boreal toad tolerance to disease and was voted the 1st Place Graduate Student Oral Presentation at the Front Range Student Ecological Symposium held at Colorado State University! It's always great seeing students from around the Front Range present their work.
25 January 2023 - As part of my Sustainability Leadership Fellowship, I participated in a 2-day science communication workshop by The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science. I had a great time learning how to craft my story and implement improv techniques to improve my communication!
2022
19 December 2022 - The Museum of Southwestern Biology's Division of Amphibians and Reptiles hosted me for a few days so I could measure hundreds of frog specimens. These data will help us understand the effects of climate change on frog populations in Colorado and highlights the utility of natural history collections. More to come!
10 October 2022 - My first dissertation chapter was accepted in the Journal of Applied Ecology! 'Compensatory recruitment unlikely in high elevation amphibian populations challenged by disease'. Check out our open access article here!
21 July 2022 - I participated in releasing boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) tadpoles at a reintroduction site in Rocky Mountain National Park. These reintroductions ensure that boreal toads, a state-endangered species in Colorado, remain on the landscape as managers work towards long-term solutions. Check out some photos here!
13 June 2022 - My abstract for The Wildlife Society's Annual Conference has been accepted! I'm looking forward to seeing old friends in Spokane in November and learning about the latest and greatest in the wildlife sciences.
24 May 2022 - Thank you to the leadership of the Global Amphibian and Reptile Disease meeting for a travel grant! I'm grateful for their commitment to increase access for early career researchers.
5 May 2022 - I was selected as a CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES) 2022 Leadership Fellow! I'm excited to grow my science communication and leadership skills with the training and workshops afforded by this program.
26 April 2022 - My abstract for the 1st Global Amphibian and Reptile Disease (GARD) meeting was accepted! I'm excited to attend my first out-of-state conference of my PhD and meet some of the best in my field!
28 March 2022- I spent a week visiting the lab of Dr. Jake Kerby at the University of South Dakota to run >30 qPCRs from samples taken during my infection experiment last fall. Thanks Jake and the Kerby Lab for hosting, I had as much fun as possible for a week of 10hr lab days!
23 March 2022 - I was selected as the 2022 Rocky Mountain National Park Bailey Fellowship winner for my PhD work on the conservation of boreal toads! This will be an amazing partnership with the National Park Service and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy to bring my work directly to managers on the ground, and amplify our research to multiple stakeholders.
14 February 2022 - Thank you to Dr. Jamie Voyles, a giant in our field, for hanging out at CSU and telling us about your lab's work! It was great meeting and hosting you. Thanks for accepting the invite!
4 February 2022 - Our Research Highlight for Journal of Animal Ecology is out! We discuss the importance of recognizing the context-dependent nature of host population persistence in the face of disease, and highlight the work of Valenzuela-Sanchez et al.!