Ross A. Alford

Distribution models for the amphibian chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Costa Rica: proposing climatic refuges as a conservation tool (2009)

Puschendorf, Robert, Carnaval, Ana C., VanDerWal, Jeremy, Zumbado-Ulate, Héctor, Chaves, Gerardo, Bolaños, Federico, ...

Aim: We use novel data on the occurrence of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Costa Rica to model its potential distribution in that country. Location: Lowland and...

Chemical discrimination among predators by lizards: responses of three skink species to the odours of high and low-threat varanid predators (2009)

Lloyd, Ray, Alford, Ross A., Schwarzkopf, Lin

Animals must balance the benefits of predator avoidance with costs. Costs of predator avoidance, such as being forced to spend long periods inactive, should select for careful discrimination among...

Locomotor performance in an invasive species: cane toads from the invasion front have greater endurance, but not speed, compared to conspecifics from a long-colonised area (2009)

Llewelyn, John, Phillips, Benjamin L., Alford, Ross A., Schwarzkopf, Lin, Shine, Richard

Cane toads (Bufo marinus) are now moving about 5 times faster through tropical Australia than they did a half-century ago, during the early phases of toad invasion. Radio-tracking has revealed higher...

Pathogenesis of chytridiomycosis, a cause of catastrophic amphibian declines (2009)

Voyles, Jamie L., Young, Samantha, Berger, Lee, Campbell, Craig, Voyles, Wyatt F, Dinudom, Anuwat, ...

The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which causes the skin disease chytridiomycosis, is one of the few highly virulent fungi in vertebrates and has been implicated in worldwide amphibian...

Toe clipping of Anurans for mark-recapture studies: acceptable if justified. That’s what we said! (2008)

Phillott, Andrea D., Skerratt, Lee F., McDonald, Keith R., Lemckert, Frank L., Hines, Harry B., Clarke, John M., ...

Parris and McCarthy (2008) have over-simplified the arguments of Phillott et al. (2007) that toe-clipping is an acceptable method of marking anurans. We discussed six points in defending toe clipping...

Movement patterns and habitat use of rainforest stream frogs in northern Queensland, Australia: implications for extinction vulnerability (2007)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Alford, Ross A.

Amphibians are one of the most highly threatened groups of animals, but their effective conservation is hampered by a paucity of basic ecological knowledge, particularly for tropical stream-breeding...

Behaviour of Australian rainforest stream frogs may affect the transmission of chytridiomycosis (2007)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Alford, Ross A.

The amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, caused by the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been implicated in mass mortalities, population declines and extinctions of amphibians around the...

Survey for the amphibian chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Hong Kong in native amphibians and in the international amphibian trade (2007)

Rowley, Jodie J.L., Chan, Simon Kin Fung, Tang, Wing Sze, Speare, Richard, Skerratt, Lee F., Alford, Ross A., ...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is responsible for many amphibian declines and has been identified in wild amphibian populations on all continents where they...

Experimental Infection and Repeat Survey Data Indicate the Amphibian Chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis May Not Occur on Freshwater Crustaceans in Northern Queensland, Australia (2007)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Hemingway, Valentine A., Alford, Ross A., Waycott, Michelle, Skerratt, Lee F., Campbell, Ruth, ...

Chytridiomycosis is a fatal disease of amphibians, caused by the amphibian chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. The disease is unusual in that it may drive many amphibian species to local...

Retreat sites of rain forest stream frogs are not a reservoir for Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in northern Queensland, Australia (2007)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Skerratt, Lee F., Alford, Ross A., Campbell, Ruth

Chytridiomycosis is a potentially fatal disease of amphibians caused by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, and is implicated in declines and extinctions of amphibian populations and species around the...

Techniques for tracking amphibians: the effects of tag attachment, and harmonic direction finding versus radio telemetry (2007)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Alford, Ross A.

To gain information on the microhabitat use, home range and movement of a species, it is often necessary to remotely track individuals in the field. Radio telemetry is commonly used to track...

Niche breadth and geographic range : ecological compensation for geographic rarity in rainforest frogs (2006)

Williams, Yvette M., Williams, Stephen E., Alford, Ross A., Waycott, Michelle, Johnson, Christopher N.

We investigated the relationship between diet specialization and geographical range in Cophixalus, a genus of microhylid frogs from the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. The geographical...

Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community (2006)

Lips, Karen R., Brem, Forrest, Brenes, Roberto, Reeve, John D., Alford, Ross A., Voyles, Jamie, ...

Pathogens rarely cause extinctions of host species, and there are few examples of a pathogen changing species richness and diversity of an ecological community by causing local extinctions across a...

Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community (2006)

Lips, Karen R., Brem, Forrest, Brenes, Roberto, Reeve, John D., Alford, Ross A., Voyles, Jamie, ...

Pathogens rarely cause extinctions of host species, and there are few examples of a pathogen changing species richness and diversity of an ecological community by causing local extinctions across a...

Niche breadth and geographic range : ecological compensation for geographic rarity in rainforest frogs (2006)

Williams, Yvette M., Williams, Stephen E., Alford, Ross A., Waycott, Michelle, Johnson, Christopher N.

We investigated the relationship between diet specialization and geographical range in Cophixalus, a genus of microhylid frogs from the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. The geographical...

Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community (2006)

Lips, Karen R., Brem, Forrest, Brenes, Roberto, Reeve, John D., Alford, Ross A., Voyles, Jamie, ...

Pathogens rarely cause extinctions of host species, and there are few examples of a pathogen changing species richness and diversity of an ecological community by causing local extinctions across a...

Niche breadth and geographic range : ecological compensation for geographic rarity in rainforest frogs (2006)

Williams, Yvette M., Williams, Stephen E., Alford, Ross A., Waycott, Michelle, Johnson, Christopher N.

We investigated the relationship between diet specialization and geographical range in Cophixalus, a genus of microhylid frogs from the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. The geographical...

Biodiversity: confronting amphibian declines and extinctions (2006)

Mendelson III, Joseph R., Lips, Karen R., Gagliardo, Ronald W., Rabb, George B., Collins, James P., Diffendorfer, James E., ...

Stopping further global losses of amphibian populations and species requires an unprecedented conservation response.

Indonesia's exports of frogs' legs (2006)

Kusrini, Mirza D., Alford, Ross A.

Indonesia is one of the world’s largest exporters of frogs’ legs for consumption as food. The majority of the frogs are caught in natural habitat on the island of Java - predominantly the...

The Amphibian Chytrid Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Occurs on Freshwater Shrimp in Rain Forest Streams in Northern Queensland, Australia (2006)

Rowley, Jodi J.L., Alford, Ross A., Skerratt, Lee F.

Chytridiomycosis is a disease of amphibians caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. It can be highly virulent and is unusual in that it appears to drive many host species to...

Experimental Exposures of Boreal Toads (Bufo boreas) to a Pathogenic Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) (2006)

Carey, Cynthia, Bruzgul, Judsen E., Livo, Lauren J., Walling, Margie L., Kuehl, Kristin A., Dixon, Brenner F., ...

One of the major causes of worldwide amphibian declines is a skin infection caused by a pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). This study documents the interactions between this...

Multiple mate choice criteria and the importance of age for male mating success in the microhylid frog, Cophixalus ornatus (2006)

Felton, Adam, Alford, Ross A., Felton, Annika A., Schwarzkopf, Lin

We examined multiple mate choice criteria in Cophixalus ornatus, a terrestrial breeding, microhylid frog. Mate choice consisted of three stages: mate attraction (male calling), courtship (male...

Population trends associated with skin peptide defenses against chytridiomycosis in Australian frogs (2006)

Woodhams, Douglas C., Rollins-Smith, Louise A., Carey, Cynthia, Reinert, Laura, Tyler, Michael J., Alford, Ross A.

Many species of amphibians in the wet tropics of Australia have experienced population declines linked with the emergence of a skin-invasive chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. An innate...

EFFECTS OF SEASON AND WEATHER ON CALLING IN THE AUSTRALIAN MICROHYLID FROGS AUSTROCHAPERINA ROBUSTA AND COPHIXALUS ORNATUS (2005)

Kim F. Hauselberger, Ross A. Alford

It is sometimes perceived that the cues affecting chorusing behavior in frogs are simple combinations of weather variables, and that closely related or sympatric species should respond to these cues...

The Function of Tail Displays in Male Rainbow Skinks (Carlia jarnoldae) (2005)

Tracy Langkilde, Lin Schwarzkopf, Ross A. Alford

A single display may be used in more than one context and, as such, may convey different information to different receivers. Tail displays in lizards are often performed in several contexts, and...

The Novel and Endemic Pathogen Hypotheses: Competing Explanations for the Origin of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife (2005)

Rachowicz, Lara J., Hero, Jean-Marc, Alford, Ross A., Taylor, John W., Morgan, Jess A.T., Vredenburg, Vance T., ...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is an emerging infectious disease implicated in declines of amphibian populations around the globe. An emerging...

The Novel and Endemic Pathogen Hypotheses: Competing Explanations for the Origin of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife (2005)

Rachowicz, Lara J., Hero, Jean-Marc, Alford, Ross A., Taylor, John W., Morgan, Jess A.T., Vredenburg, Vance T., ...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is an emerging infectious disease implicated in declines of amphibian populations around the globe. An emerging...

The Novel and Endemic Pathogen Hypotheses: Competing Explanations for the Origin of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife (2005)

Rachowicz, Lara J., Hero, Jean-Marc, Alford, Ross A., Taylor, John W., Morgan, Jess A.T., Vredenburg, Vance T., ...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is an emerging infectious disease implicated in declines of amphibian populations around the globe. An emerging...

The Novel and Endemic Pathogen Hypotheses: Competing Explanations for the Origin of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife (2005)

Rachowicz, Lara J., Hero, Jean-Marc, Alford, Ross A., Taylor, John W., Morgan, Jess A.T., Vredenburg, Vance T., ...

Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, is an emerging infectious disease implicated in declines of amphibian populations around the globe. An emerging...

Shelter Microhabitats Determine Body Temperature and Dehydration Rates of a Terrestrial Amphibian (Bufo marinus) (2002)

Frank Seebacher, Ross A. Alford

Selection of diurnal shelter sites varies significantly with season in the cane toad (Bufo marinus), and the aim of this paper is to determine how hydric and thermal conditions of shelter...

Nomadic movement in tropical toads (2002)

Schwarzkopf, Lin, Alford, Ross A.

Dispersal is a critical aspect of the biology of most organisms, but movement patterns are poorly known for most animals. Knowledge of movement patterns allows biologists to construct realistic...

Nomadic movement in tropical toads (2002)

Schwarzkopf, Lin, Alford, Ross A.

Dispersal is a critical aspect of the biology of most organisms, but movement patterns are poorly known for most animals. Knowledge of movement patterns allows biologists to construct realistic...

Nomadic movement in tropical toads (2002)

Schwarzkopf, Lin, Alford, Ross A.

Dispersal is a critical aspect of the biology of most organisms, but movement patterns are poorly known for most animals. Knowledge of movement patterns allows biologists to construct realistic...

Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community

Lips, Karen R., Brem, Forrest, Brenes, Roberto, Reeve, John D., Alford, Ross A., Voyles, Jamie, ...

Pathogens rarely cause extinctions of host species, and there are few examples of a pathogen changing species richness and diversity of an ecological community by causing local extinctions across a...

Emerging infectious disease and the loss of biodiversity in a Neotropical amphibian community

Lips, Karen R., Brem, Forrest, Brenes, Roberto, Reeve, John D., Alford, Ross A., Voyles, Jamie, ...

Pathogens rarely cause extinctions of host species, and there are few examples of a pathogen changing species richness and diversity of an ecological community by causing local extinctions across a...

Niche breadth and geographical range: ecological compensation for geographical rarity in rainforest frogs

Williams, Yvette M, Williams, Stephen E, Alford, Ross A, Waycott, Michelle, Johnson, Christopher N

We investigated the relationship between diet specialization and geographical range in Cophixalus, a genus of microhylid frogs from the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. The geographical...

Self-made shelters protect spiders from predation

Manicom, Carryn, Schwarzkopf, Lin, Alford, Ross A., Schoener, Thomas W.

Many animals modify their environments, apparently to reduce predation risk, but the success of such endeavors, and their impact on the density and distribution of populations, are rarely rigorously...