Muths, E. 2015. Dust jacket blurb for book Salamandria by S. Trauth and J. Trauth. Mockingbird Lane Press.
Erin Muths, Ph.D.
Biography
Erin Muths is a Zoologist at the Fort Collins Science Center. Dr. Muths received a PhD in Zoology from the University of Queensland, Australia. Since joining the USGS in 1995 she has studied amphibians in Colorado and around the world. Dr. Muths specializes in amphibian demography, disease ecology and conservation. Current research projects include reintroductions of boreal toads in Rocky Mountain National Park, salamander disease and occurrence in the desert southwest and Mexico, and demography of chorus frog and boreal toad populations in Colorado and Wyoming.
Education
- Doctor of Philosophy, Zoology, University of Queensland, Department of Zoology, Brisbane, Australia, January 1997.Dissertation title: Reproductive Physiology and Ecology of Female Red Kangaroos (Macropus rufus).
- Master of Science, Biology - Systematics and Ecology, Kansas State University, Division of Biology, Manhattan, KS, October 1990.
- Bachelor of Science, Wildlife Ecology - Natural Sciences, University of Wisconsin, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, Madison, WI, May 1986.
Professional Experience
- U.S. Geological Survey - Biological Resources Division Fort Collins Science Center, Fort Collins, CO. April 1995 - present.
- University of Queensland Brisbane, Australia; Southwest Queensland, Australia, Ph.D. research. June 1991 - January 1994.
- Archbold Biological Station Lake Placid, FL, Research Intern. October 1990 - March 1991. Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan, KS, Research Assistant. August 1988 - May 1990.
- Smithsonian Institution, Conservation Research Center Front Royal, VA, Intern. December 1987 - March 1988.
Affiliations
- USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative - Principle Investigator, Southern Rocky Mountains 2000 - present
- Member – The Society for Conservation Biology 1989 – 2011
- Member – The American Society of Mammalogists 1994 – 2002
- Member – Colorado Boreal Toad Recovery Team 1996 – present
- Member – Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology 1997 – 2007
- Research Associate – Denver Zoological Foundation 1998 – present
- Member – Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 1999 – present SW PARC – Steering Committee 2008 – 2011
- Member – Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles 2000 – 2014
- Co-Editor, Journal of Herpetology 2010 – 2015 Section Editor, Journal of Herpetology 2014 – present
- Member – American Society of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists 2002 – present
- Member – Herpetologists’ League 2007 – present Executive Council 2007 – 2011
- Chair – EE Williams Research Grant Committee 2009 – 2011
Partners
- University of Georgia (Chandler, Howell)
- Colorado State University (Bailey, Funk, Huyvaert)
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program (Lambert)
- USGS - ARMI (Adams, Hossack, Fisher, Walls, Waddle, Grant, Chambert, Pilliod)
- USGS - Powell Center USGS (Vandever, Smalling, Anderson)
- Pennsylvania State University (Miller, Amburgey)
- Conservation Science Partners Arizona Game and Fish (Jones, Sredl)
- USFWS (Crawford, Ireland)
- Colorado Parks and Wildlife (Crockett)
- University of Arizona (Stiedl, Zylstra)
- University of Colorado (Johnson)
- Zoological Society of London (Garner)
- Rocky Mountain National Park (Watry)
- Iowa State University (Pierce, Swanson)
- University of Wyoming (Murphy)
Science and Products
Date published: December 9, 2016
Status: Active Modeling Colonization of a Population of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs
Managing a species with intensive tools like reintroduction may focus on single sites or entire landscapes. For mobile species like the federally-threatened Chiricahua leopard frog (Lithobates chiricahuensis [CLF]), both suitable colonization sites and suitable dispersal corridors between sites are needed. Following the eradication of the invasive American bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)...
Date published: December 5, 2016
Status: Active Amphibian Chytrid Fungus Sampling in Arizona and Mexico
Information on disease presence can be of use to natural resource managers, especially in areas supporting threatened and endangered species that occur coincidentally with species that are suspected vectors for disease. A general sense of pathogen presence (or absence) can inform management directed at threatened and endangered species, especially in regions where disease is suspected to have...
Date published: October 25, 2013
Status: Active Elucidating mechanisms underlying amphibian declines in North America using hierarchical spatial models
Amphibian populations are declining globally at unprecedented rates but statistically rigorous identification of mechanisms is lacking. Identification of reasons underlying large-scale declines is imperative to plan and implement effective conservation efforts. Most research on amphibian population decline has focused on local populations and local factors. However, the ubiquity of declines...
Attribution: John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
Date published: April 14, 2020
Demographic data from two chorus frog populations in Colorado
We used 29 years of data on boreal chorus frogs at two sites to view life-history, estimate demographic parameters, assess weather-related covariates, and determine the magnitude of process variation in target parameters. Average estimates of survival probabilities were 0.51 (Standard error [SE]=0.04) and 0.43 (SE=0.04), and average estimates of recruitment probabilities w
Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center
Year Published: 2020
Species-specific responses to wetland mitigation among amphibians in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
Habitat loss and degradation are leading causes of biodiversity declines, therefore assessing the capacity of created mitigation wetlands to replace habitat for wildlife has become a management priority. We used single season occupancy models to compare the occurrence of larvae of four species of pond‐breeding amphibians in wetlands created for...
Swartz, LK; Lowe, WH; Muths, Erin L.; Hossack, Blake R.
Year Published: 2019
A statistical forecasting approach to metapopulation viability analysis
Conservation of at‐risk species is aided by reliable forecasts of the consequences of environmental change and management actions on population viability. Forecasts from conventional population viability analysis (PVA) are made using a two‐step procedure in which parameters are estimated, or elicited from expert opinion, and then plugged into a...
Howell, Paige E.; Hossack, Blake R.; Muths, Erin L.; Sigafus, Brent; Chenevert-Steffler, A; Chandler, Richard B.Attribution: Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Drought-mediated extinction of an arid-land amphibian: Insights from a spatially explicit dynamic occupancy model
Understanding how natural and anthropogenic processes affect population dynamics of species with patchy distributions is critical to predicting their responses to environmental changes. Despite considerable evidence that demographic rates and dispersal patterns vary temporally in response to an array of biotic and abiotic processes, few...
Muths, Erin L.; Zylstra, Erin R; Swann, Don E; Hossack, Blake R.; Steidl, Robert J
Year Published: 2019
Using full and partial unmixing algorithms to estimate the inundation extent of small, isolated stock ponds in an arid landscape
Many natural wetlands around the world have disappeared or been replaced, resulting in the dependence of many wildlife species on small, artificial earthen stock ponds. These ponds provide critical wildlife habitat, such that the accurate detection of water and assessment of inundation extent is required. We applied a full (linear spectral mixture...
Jarchow, Christopher; Sigafus, Brent H.; Muths, Erin L.; Hossack, Blake R.Attribution: Southwest Biological Science Center, Ecosystems
Year Published: 2019
Effect of amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) on apparent survival of frogs and toads in the western USA
Despite increasing interest in determining the population-level effects of emerging infectious diseases on wildlife, estimating effects of disease on survival rates remains difficult. Even for a well-studied disease such as amphibian chytridiomycosis (caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis [Bd]), there are few estimates of...
Russell, Robin E.; Halstead, Brian J.; Mosher, Brittany; Muths, Erin L.; Adams, Michael J.; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Fisher, Robert N.; Kleeman, Patrick M.; Backlin, Adam R.; Pearl, Christopher; Honeycutt, R. Ken; Hossack, Blake R.Attribution: Biology and Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center, Ecosystems, Fish & Wildlife Disease, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, United States of America
Year Published: 2019
Conservation research across scales in a national program: How to be relevant to local management yet general at the same time
Successfully addressing complex conservation problems requires attention to pattern and process at multiple spatial scales. This is challenging from a logistical and organizational perspective. In response to indications of worldwide declines in amphibian populations, the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) of the United States...
Adams, Michael J.; Muths, Erin L.
Year Published: 2019
Aquatic macroinvertebrate community responses to wetland mitigation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
1. Wetlands are critical components of freshwater biodiversity and provide ecosystem services, but human activities have resulted in large-scale loss of these habitats across the globe. To offset this loss, mitigation wetlands are frequently constructed, but their ability to replicate the functions of natural wetlands remains uncertain. Further,...
LEAH K. SWARTZ; Hossack, Blake R.; Muths, Erin L.; Robert L. Newell; Winsor H. Lowe
Year Published: 2019
Status of the threatened Chiricahua Leopard Frog and conservation challenges in Sonora, Mexico, with notes on other ranid frogs and non-native predators
In North America, ranid frogs (Ranidae) have experienced larger declines than any other amphibian family, particularly species native to the southwestern USA and adjacent Mexico; however, our knowledge of their conservation status and threats is limited in Mexico. We assessed the status of the federally listed as threatened (USA) Chiricahua...
James C. Rorabaugh; Hossack, Blake R.; Muths, Erin L.; Sigafus, Brent H.; Julio A. Lemos-Espinal
Year Published: 2018
Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines
A research priority can be defined as a knowledge gap that, if resolved, identifies the optimal course of conservation action. We (a group of geographically distributed and multidisciplinary research scientists) used tools from nominal group theory and decision analysis to collaboratively identify and prioritize information...
Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Adams, M.J.; Fisher, Robert N.; Grear, Daniel A.; Halstead, Brian J.; Hossack, Blake R.; Muths, Erin L.; Richgels, Katherine L. D.; Russell, Robin E.; Smalling, Kelly L.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Walls, Susan C.; White, C. LeAnnAttribution: Biology and Ecosystems, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems, Water Resources, Fish & Wildlife Disease, Wildlife Program, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 4: Mississippi Basin, United States of America
View Citation
Grant, E. H. C., Adams, M. J., Fisher, R. N., Grear, D. A., Halstead, B. J., Hossack, B. R., Muths, E., Richgels, K. L. D., Russell, R. E., Smalling, K. L., Waddle, J. H., Walls, S. C., and White, C. L., 2018, Identifying management-relevant research priorities for responding to disease-associated amphibian declines: Global Ecology and Conservation, v. 16, article e00441, 9 p. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00441
Year Published: 2018
Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities
Changing climate will impact species’ ranges only when environmental variability directly impacts the demography of local populations. However, measurement of demographic responses to climate change has largely been limited to single species and locations. Here we show that amphibian communities are responsive to climatic variability, using >...
Miller, David A.W.; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Muths, Erin L.; Amburgey, Staci M.; Adams, M.J.; Joseph, Maxwell B.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Johnson, Pieter T.J.; Ryan, Maureen E.; Schmidt, Benedikt R.; Calhoun, Daniel L.; Davis, Courtney L.; Fisher, Robert N.; Green, David M.; Hossack, Blake R.; Rittenhouse, Tracy A.G.; Walls, Susan C.; Bailey, Larissa L.; Cruickshank, Sam S.; Fellers, Gary M.; Gorman, Thomas A.; Haas, Carola A.; Hughson, Ward; Pilliod, David S.; Price, Steven J.; Ray, Andrew M.; Sadinski, Walter; Saenz, Daniel; Barichivich, William J.; Brand, Adrianne B.; Brehme, Cheryl S.; Dagit, Rosi; Delaney, Katy S.; Glorioso, Brad M.; Kats, Lee B.; Kleeman, Patrick M.; Pearl, Christopher; Rochester, Carlton J.; Riley, Seth P. D.; Roth, Mark F.; Sigafus, BrentAttribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center, Ecosystems, Water Resources, Wildlife Program, , Southwest, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), Region 4: Mississippi Basin, Region 1: North Atlantic-Appalachian, United States of America
View Citation
Miller, D. A. W., Grant, E. H. C., Muths, E., Amburgey, S. M., Adams, M. J., Joseph, M. B., Waddle, J. H., Johnson, P. J. T., Ryan, M. E., Schmid, B. R., Calhoun, D. L., Davis, C. L., Fisher, R. N., Green, D. M., Hossack, B. R., Rittenhouse, T. A. G., Walls, S. C., Bailey, L. L., Cruickshank, S. S., Fellers, G. M., Gorman, T. A., Haas, C. A., Hughson, W., Pilliod, D. S., Price, S. J., Ray, A. M., Sadinski, W., Saenz, D., Barichivich, W. J., Brand, A. B., Brehme, C. S., Dagit, R., Delaney, K. S., Glorioso, B. M., Kats, L. B., Kleeman, P. M., Pearl, C. A., Rochester, C. J., Riley, S. P. D., Roth, M., and Sigafus, B. H., 2018, Quantifying climate sensitivity and climate-driven change in North American amphibian communities: Nature Communications, v. 9, no. Article number: 3926, p. 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06157-6
Year Published: 2018
Exploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling
This is the first field study of its kind to combine radio telemetry, passive samplers, and pesticide accumulation in tissues to characterize the amphibian exposome as it relates to pesticides. Understanding how habitat drives exposure in individuals (i.e., their exposome), and how that relates to individual health is critical to managing species...
Swanson, Jennifer E.; Muths, Erin L.; Pierce, Clay; Dinsmore, Stephen J.; Vandever, Mark W.; Hladik, Michelle; Smalling, Kelly L.Attribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Swanson, J.E., Muths, E., Pierce, C.L., Dinsmore, S.J., Vandever, M.W., Hladik, M.L. and Smalling, K.L., 2018. Exploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling. Scientific reports, 8(1), p.10045.
Year Published: 2018
Increasing connectivity between metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology
Metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology aim to understand how spatial structure influences ecological processes, yet these disciplines address the problem using fundamentally different modeling approaches. Metapopulation models describe how the spatial distribution of patches affects colonization and extinction, but often do not account for...
Howell, Paige E.; Muths, Erin L.; Hossack, Blake; Sigafus, Brent; Chandler, RichardAttribution: Fort Collins Science Center, Ecosystems
View Citation
Howell, P.E., Muths, E., Hossack, B.R., Sigafus, B.H. and Chandler, R.B., 2018. Increasing connectivity between metapopulation ecology and landscape ecology. Ecology, 99(5), pp.1119-1128.
Pre-USGS Publications
Muths, E. 2013. Blackrock: Biological hotspot and hotbed of collaboration. Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative, Jackson, WY, Annual Newsletter, Fall, 2013.
Muths, E. 1999. Dwarf shrew found in Rocky Mountain National Park. Park Science 19(1): 25.
An observation on caching of prey by a long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata)
Muths, E. 1998. An observation on caching of prey by a long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata). Southwestern Naturalist. 43(1): 106.
Basking by adult boreal toads (Bufo boreas boreas) during the breeding season
Muths, E., and P.S. Corn. 1997. Basking by adult boreal toads (Bufo boreas boreas) during the breeding season. Journal of Herpetology. 31(3): 426-428.
Survey and assessment of amphibian populations in Rocky Mountain National Park
Corn, P.S., M.L. Jennings, and E. Muths. 1997. Survey and assessment of amphibian populations in Rocky Mountain National Park. Northwestern Naturalist. 78(1): 34-55.
Circulating levels of prolactin and progesterone in a wild population of red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) Marsupialia: Macropodidae
Muths, E., and L.A. Hinds. 1996. Circulating levels of prolactin and progesterone in a wild population of red kangaroos (Macropus rufus) Marsupialia: Macropodidae. General and Comparative Endocrinology. 101: 317-3.
Kangaroo rat bone compared to white rat bone after short-term disuse and exercise
Muths, E., and O.J. Reichman. 1996. Kangaroo rat bone compared to white rat bone after short-term disuse and exercise. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 114A(4): 355-3.
Milk composition in a field population of red kangaroos, Macropus rufus (Desmarest) (Macropodidae: Marsupialia)
Muths, E. 1996. Milk composition in a field population of red kangaroos, Macropus rufus (Desmarest) (Macropodidae: Marsupialia). Australian Journal of Zoology. 44: 165-1.
Substrate Discrimination in Burying Beetles, Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae)
Muths, E. 1991. Substrate Discrimination in Burying Beetles, Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 64(4): 447-450.
Date published: May 31, 2019
Conservation Research Across Scales in a National Program
In 2000, the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative - or ARMI - was established, under the direction of the President and Congress, in response to worldwide declines in amphibian populations.
Date published: October 26, 2018
A Unified Research Strategy for Disease Management
As wildlife diseases increase globally, an understanding of host-pathogen relationships can elucidate avenues for management and improve conservation efficacy. Amphibians are among the most threatened groups of wildlife, and disease is a major factor in global amphibian declines.
Attribution: Fish & Wildlife Disease, Wildlife Program, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Western Ecological Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center
Date published: September 28, 2018
Large-scale Review of Amphibian Species and Community Response to Climate Change
Amphibian species and community richness has been declining in North America and climate change may play a role in these declines. Global climate change has led to a range shift of many wildlife species and thus understanding how these changes in species distribution can be used to predict amphibian community responses that may improve conservation efforts.
Attribution: Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC), Fort Collins Science Center, Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK), Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC), Southwest Biological Science Center, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Western Ecological Research Center, Wetland and Aquatic Research Center