USGS National Wetlands Research Center: Susan Walls profiles

Susan C. Walls, Ph.D.

Susan C. Walls, Ph.D. 1991. Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, University of Southwestern Louisiana. Amphibian ecology, community ecology, conservation biology, population declines.

The primary focus of Walls's research program is that of identifying the biotic and abiotic factors that influence patterns in the distribution and abundance of amphibians. Currently, this focus is of particular concern because many populations of amphibians are experiencing declines, range reductions, unprecedented embryonic mortality and/or deformities in metamorphosed individuals. Research efforts are presently focused on exploring whether species diversity and the reproductive success of amphibians are correlated with (1) the occurrence of particular contaminants in the sediment and standing water of backwater breeding sites and (2) patterns of land use (reflecting the extent of habitat loss and/or fragmentation) surrounding breeding areas. The habitats being studied vary in their exposure to agricultural contaminants and the extent of habitat alteration surrounding breeding areas, conditions which have produced an excellent opportunity to examine how communities of amphibians have responded to such variation.

Walls's NWRC Publications

The following list of publications is current only through 2001. For an update, please go to the online NWRC publications data base (http://librrefmgr.cr.usgs.gov?func=advSearch) to search for the bibliographic citations of individual staff members.

Refereed

Walls, S.C., D.G. Taylor, and C.M. Wilson. 2002. Interspecific differences in susceptibility to competition and predation in a species-pair of larval amphibians. Herpetologica. In press.

Walls, S.C., and M.G. Williams. 2001. The effect of community composition on persistence of prey with their predators in an assemblage of pond-breeding amphibians. Oecologia 128:134-141.

Abstracts

Arnold, J., and Walls, S.C., 2001, The effects of genetic relatedness and alternative prey on cannibalism in mosquitofish [abs.]: Amerian Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetolotists, July 5-10, 2001.

Walls, S.C., Taylor, R., Lichtenberg, J., and Doherty, J., 2001, The effect of conspecifics on the performance of juvenile spadefoot toads: the consequences of variation in body size [abs.]: Annual Meeting of the Herpetologists' League and the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, July 27-31, 2001, Indianapolis, Ind.

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