Profiles
Dr Robert Puschendorf
Lecturer in Conservation Biology
School of Biological Sciences (Faculty of Science & Environment)
Role
Lecturer in Biological Sciences
Qualifications
Lecturer in Conservation Biology
Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Australian Research Council (2010-2013). JamesCook University, Queensland. Australia.
Ph.D (2009) James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland.
M.Sc. (2005) University of Costa Rica. San Pedro, SanJosé, Costa Rica.
B.Sc Hons (1998) EARTH University, Limón, Costa Rica.
Teaching interests
I currently teach on the following courses:
ANIM506 Animal Conservation
BIOL114 Introduction to Animal Physiology and Welfare
BIOL115 Natural History and Taxonomy
BIOL203 Methods in Biological Sciences
BIOL206 Animals and the environment
BIOL208 Methods in Behaviour Conservation
BIOL209 Animal Physiology and Health
BIOL302 Applied Conservation Biology
BIOL1006 Skills in Biological Investigation and Experimentation
ENVS309 Biodiversity Management in Tropical Regions
Species Distribution Modelling
Research interests
My research interests surround the ecological and evolutionary consequences of the emerging infectious diseases and climate change on biodiversity loss.
Recently I have focused on the importance of environmental conditions in the frequency and likelihood of frog disease outbreaks, and the impacts on populations across different environmental gradients. Interestingly and significantly, this work has uncovered a pattern of dry forests as environmental refugia from disease driven amphibian extinctions, which is consistent across continents; in Costa Rica and tropical Australia.
Key publications are highlighted
Journals
Articles
2014
'Extremely Low Prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Frog Populations from Neotropical Dry Forest of Costa Rica Supports the Existence of a Climatic Refuge from Disease'
Ecohealth
, DOI
2014
'Moving Beyond Too Little, Too Late: Managing Emerging Infectious Diseases in Wild Populations Requires International Policy and Partnerships'
EcoHealth
1-4
, DOI
2013
'Do pathogens become more virulent as they spread? Evidence from the amphibian declines in Central America'
Proc Biol Sci
280,
(1766)
, DOI
2013
'Underestimated ranges and overlooked refuges from amphibian chytridiomycosis'
Diversiy and Distributions
19,
(8)
, DOI
2012
'There is no evidence for a temporal link between pathogen arrival and frog extinctions in north-eastern Australia'
PLoS One
7,
(12)
, DOI
2012
'Where are the survivors? Tracking relictual populations of endangered frogs in Costa Rica'
Diversity and Distributions
18,
(2)
204-212
, DOI
2011
'Assessing spatial patterns of disease risk to biodiversity: implications for the management of the amphibian pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'
Journal of Applied Ecology
48,
(1)
163-173
, DOI
2011
'Environmental refuge from disease-driven amphibian extinction'
Conserv Biol
25,
(5)
956-964
, DOI
2011
'Fresh waters and fish diversity: distribution, protection and disturbance in tropical Australia'
PLoS One
6,
(10)
, DOI
2011
'Issues with modelling the current and future distribution of invasive pathogens'
Journal of applied ecology
48,
177-180
2011
'Mitigating amphibian disease: strategies to maintain wild populations and control chytridiomycosis'
Front Zool
8,
(1)
, DOI
2011
'Short-term exposure to warm microhabitats could explain amphibian persistence with Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'
PLoS One
6,
(10)
, DOI
2010
'The distribution and host range of the pandemic disease chytridiomycosis in Australia, spanning surveys from 1956-2007: Ecological Archives E091-108'
Ecology
91,
1557-1558
2009
'Distribution models for the amphibian chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Costa Rica: proposing climatic refuges as a conservation tool'
Diversity and Distributions
15,
(3)
401-408
, DOI
2009
'Preserving pathogens for wildlife conservation: a case for action on amphibian declines'
Oryx
43,
527-529
2007
'Eleutherodactylus ranoides (NCN). Distribution. Eleutherodactylus ranoides (NCN). Distribución'
Herpetological Review.
38,
184-185
2007
'PLANT CONSUMPTION IN AUSTRALIAN GECKOS: SAP FEEDING BY THE OCELLATED VELVET GECKO OEDURA MONILIS'
Naturalist
21,
207-208
2006
'Amphibian Chytrid Fungus Broadly Distributed in the Brazilian Atlantic Rain Forest'
EcoHealth
3,
(1)
41-48
, DOI
2006
'Detection of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Eleutherodactylus fitzingeri: effects of skin sample location and histologic stain'
J Wildl Dis
42,
(2)
301-306
, DOI
2006
'The amphibian chytrid fungus along an altitudinal transect before the first reported declines in Costa Rica'
Biological Conservation
132,
(1)
136-142
, DOI
2006
'Widespread amphibian extinctions from epidemic disease driven by global warming'
Nature
439,
(7073)
161-167
, DOI
2005
'Catastrophic Population Declines and Extinctions in Neotropical Harlequin Frogs (Bufonidae: Atelopus)1'
Biotropica
37,
(2)
190-201
, DOI
2005
'Eleutherodactylus ranoides (NCN). Dry forest population, refuge from decline?. Eleutherodactylus ranoides (NCN). Población del bosque seco, refugio en disminución?'
Herpetological Review.
36,
53-53
2004
'Cochranella albomaculata (NCN)'
Herpetological Review
35,
52-52
2003
'Atelopus varius (Harlequin Frog) fungal infection. Atelopus varius (Rana arlequín) infección fungosa'
Herpetological Review.
34,
355-355