Erin Muths, PhD
Dr. Erin Muths is a Research Zoologist at the Fort Collins Science Center who specializes in amphibian demography, disease ecology and conservation.
Dr. Muths holds a doctorate 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, demography of chorus frog and boreal toad populations in Colorado and Wyoming, and salamander disease and occurrence in the desert southwest and Mexico. She is on several graduate student committees at Colorado State University, the University of Colorado and at the CCMB Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species in Hyderabad, India.
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 1995
Archbold Biological Station Lake Placid, FL, Research Intern, October 1990 - March 1991
Kansas State University, Division of Biology Manhattan, KS, Master's Research, Research Assistant, August 1988 - May 1990
Smithsonian Institution, Conservation Research Center Front Royal, VA, Intern, December 1987 - March 1988
Affiliations and Memberships*
USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative - Principle Investigator, Southern Rocky Mountains, 2000 - present
The Society for Conservation Biology, 1989 – 2011
The American Society of Mammalogists, 1994 – 2002
Colorado Boreal Toad Recovery Team, 1996 – present
Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology 1997 – 2007
Research Associate – Denver Zoological Foundation, 1998 – present
Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, 1999 – present; SW PARC – Steering Committee, 2008 – 2011
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 2000 – 2014; representative to joint Herpetological Education Committee, 2017 – 2020; Committee chair 2020
Co-Editor, Journal of Herpetology, 2010 – 2015; Section Editor, Journal of Herpetology, 2014 – present
American Society of Ichthyologists & Herpetologists, 2002 – present
Herpetologists’ League 2007 – present; Executive Council 2007 – 2011; Chair, EE Williams Research Grant Committee, 2009-2010
Science and Products
Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies
An alternative framework for responding to the amphibian crisis
Restored agricultural wetlands in Central Iowa: habitat quality and amphibian response
Non-native and native organisms moving into high elevation and high latitude ecosystems in an era of climate change: new challenges for ecology and conservation
Spatial occupancy models for predicting metapopulation dynamics and viability following reintroduction
How spatio-temporal habitat connectivity affects amphibian genetic structure
Trends in Rocky Mountain amphibians and the role of beaver as a keystone species
Modeling habitat connectivity to inform reintroductions: a case study with the Chiricahua Leopard Frog
Pesticide concentrations in frog tissue and wetland habitats in alandscape dominated by agriculture
Prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA
The effects of hydropattern and predator communities on amphibian occupancy
Demography of common toads after local extirpation of co-occurring midwife toads
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans) in the United States—Developing research, monitoring, and management strategies
An alternative framework for responding to the amphibian crisis
Restored agricultural wetlands in Central Iowa: habitat quality and amphibian response
Non-native and native organisms moving into high elevation and high latitude ecosystems in an era of climate change: new challenges for ecology and conservation
Spatial occupancy models for predicting metapopulation dynamics and viability following reintroduction
How spatio-temporal habitat connectivity affects amphibian genetic structure
Trends in Rocky Mountain amphibians and the role of beaver as a keystone species
Modeling habitat connectivity to inform reintroductions: a case study with the Chiricahua Leopard Frog
Pesticide concentrations in frog tissue and wetland habitats in alandscape dominated by agriculture
Prevalence of the amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) at Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge, Arizona, USA
The effects of hydropattern and predator communities on amphibian occupancy
Demography of common toads after local extirpation of co-occurring midwife toads
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government