We live in a time of unprecedented environmental change. Every day more species go extinct, climate change alters the flora and fauna, and new infectious diseases affect wildlife, forests, food crops, and us. While some species are decimated by disease, or disappear under global warming, not all species of wildlife respond equally to these threats. In my lab, we determine why species of amphibians differ in their response to global threats such as emerging infectious disease or global climate change, how those changes affect other parts of the ecosystem, and how we might use this information to prioritize conservation decisions. Broadly, through field studies, experimentation, and modeling we study the biology of amphibians at population, community and ecosystem levels as they are affected by disease and climate change. We have been studying the role of disease in declines of amphibians in Central and North America and are interested in knowing why some frog species decline or disappear when infected with the frog-killing chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (“Bd”) while other species persist. We study disease dynamics of Bd in natural populations of amphibians and how variation in ecology and environmental conditions can alter individual and population responses to the fungus.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Karen Lips is Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland. She has a B.S. in Zoology from the University of South Florida, and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Miami. She is an ecologist who studies how global change affects biodiversity of amphibians and reptiles in Latin America and the US. A primary focus of her research is determining the ecological and environmental factors that influence amphibian species’ response to disease, and how that information might be used in conservation and recovery plans. She is interested in how the loss of biodiversity affects communities and ecosystems, and how human activities contribute to the spread of disease and loss of biodiversity. Dr. Lips is interested in increasing engagement on environmental issues, promoting scientific leadership, and fostering international scientific collaborations. Dr. Lips was a Jefferson Science Fellow at the Department of State, and is a Research Associate at the US Museum of Natural History. She is an AAAS Fellow, an ESA Fellow, and an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow.  
                   
Return to Schedule