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
Breeding chorus indices are weakly related to estimated abundance of Boreal Chorus Frogs
Long-term observations of Boreal Toads at an ARMI apex site
Compensatory effects of recruitment and survival when amphibian populations are perturbed by disease
Amphibian declines: promising directions in understanding the role of disease
The World Congress of Herpetology and Animal Conservation: Excerpts from the 6th World Congress
Unbiased survival estimates and evidence for skipped breeding opportunities in females
Effects of amphibian chytrid fungus on individual survival probability in wild boreal toads
Distribution limits of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: a case study in the Rocky Mountains, USA
How relevant is opportunistic Bd sampling: Are we ready for the big picture?
Bent's Old Fort: Amphibians and Reptiles
Distribution and environmental limitations of an amphibian pathogen in the Rocky Mountains, USA
Effects of weather on survival in populations of boreal toads in Colorado
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
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Filter Total Items: 146
Breeding chorus indices are weakly related to estimated abundance of Boreal Chorus Frogs
Call surveys used to monitor breeding choruses of anuran amphibians generate index values that are frequently used to represent the number of male frogs present, but few studies have quantified this relationship. We compared abundance of male Boreal Chorus Frogs (Pseudacris maculata), estimated using capture–recapture methods in two populations in Colorado, to call index values derived from automaAuthorsPaul Stephen Corn, Erin Muths, Amanda Kissel, Rick D. SchererLong-term observations of Boreal Toads at an ARMI apex site
The U.S. Geological Survey’s Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is a national project with goals to monitor the status and trends of amphibians, conduct research on causes of declines, and provide information and support to management agencies for conservation of amphibian populations. ARMI activities are organized around extensive inventories and place-based monitoring (such as cAuthorsPaul Stephen Corn, Erin L. Muths, David S. PilliodCompensatory effects of recruitment and survival when amphibian populations are perturbed by disease
The need to increase our understanding of factors that regulate animal population dynamics has been catalysed by recent, observed declines in wildlife populations worldwide. Reliable estimates of demographic parameters are critical for addressing basic and applied ecological questions and understanding the response of parameters to perturbations (e.g. disease, habitat loss, climate change). HoweveAuthorsE. Muths, R. D. Scherer, D. S. PilliodAmphibian declines: promising directions in understanding the role of disease
No abstract available.AuthorsErin Muths, J.-M. HeroThe World Congress of Herpetology and Animal Conservation: Excerpts from the 6th World Congress
The World Congress of Herpetology (WCH, http://www.worldcongressofherpetology.org/) is a relatively young organization as far as august herpetological societies go. It was formed in 1982, the year of the 25th meeting of the Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (founded in 1958), which itself is a relative youngster when compared to organizations such as the American Society for IchthyoAuthorsT.W.J. Garner, J.-M. Hero, R. Jehle, F. Kraus, E. Muths, R.N. Reed, R.C. Vogt, W. HodlUnbiased survival estimates and evidence for skipped breeding opportunities in females
1. Estimates of demographic parameters for females, in many organisms, are sparse. This is particularly worrisome as more and more species are faced with high extinction probabilities and conservation increasingly depends on actions dictated by complex predictive models that require accurate estimates of demographic parameters for each sex and species. 2. This study assesses demographic parametersAuthorsErin L. Muths, Rick D. Scherer, Brad A. LambertEffects of amphibian chytrid fungus on individual survival probability in wild boreal toads
Chytridiomycosis is linked to the worldwide decline of amphibians, yet little is known about the demographic effects of the disease. We collected capture-recapture data on three populations of boreal toads (Bufo boreas [Bufo = Anaxyrus]) in the Rocky Mountains (U.S.A.). Two of the populations were infected with chytridiomycosis and one was not. We examined the effect of the presence of amphibian cAuthorsD. S. Pilliod, E. Muths, R. D. Scherer, P.E. Bartelt, P. S. Corn, B. R. Hossack, B.A. Lambert, R. Mccaffery, C. GaughanDistribution limits of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: a case study in the Rocky Mountains, USA
Knowledge of the environmental constraints on a pathogen is critical to predicting its dynamics and effects on populations. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), an aquatic fungus that has been linked with widespread amphibian declines, is ubiquitous in the Rocky Mountains. As part of assessing the distribution limits of Bd in our study area, we sampled the water column and sediments for Bd zoosporAuthorsBlake R. Hossack, Erin L. Muths, Chauncey W. Anderson, Julie D. Kirshtein, P. Stephen CornHow relevant is opportunistic Bd sampling: Are we ready for the big picture?
Understanding the distribution of chytridiomycosis, both at global and local scales, is important to controlling its impacts on host species (e.g., biocontrol or eradication) and to managing host amphibian populations (e.g., reintroduction and habitat management). In response to this, efforts to map observations of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) are underway to better understand its distributAuthorsErin Muths, Britt Spurre Pedersen, Finn Spurre PedersenBent's Old Fort: Amphibians and Reptiles
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site sits along the Arkansas River in the semi-desert prairie of southeastern Colorado. The USGS provided assistance in designing surveys to assess the variety of herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles) resident at this site. This brochure is the results of those efforts and provides visitors with information on what frogs, toads, snakes and salamanders might be seAuthorsE. MuthsDistribution and environmental limitations of an amphibian pathogen in the Rocky Mountains, USA
Amphibian populations continue to be imperiled by the chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Understanding where B. dendrobatidis (Bd) occurs and how it may be limited by environmental factors is critical to our ability to effectively conserve the amphibians affected by Bd. We sampled 1247 amphibians (boreal toads and surrogates) at 261 boreal toad (Bufo boreas) breeding sites (97 clusteAuthorsE. Muths, D. S. Pilliod, L.J. LivoEffects of weather on survival in populations of boreal toads in Colorado
Understanding the relationships between animal population demography and the abiotic and biotic elements of the environments in which they live is a central objective in population ecology. For example, correlations between weather variables and the probability of survival in populations of temperate zone amphibians may be broadly applicable to several species if such correlations can be validatedAuthorsR. D. Scherer, E. Muths, B.A. LambertNon-USGS Publications**
Muths, E. 2015. Dust jacket blurb for book Salamandria by S. Trauth and J. Trauth. Mockingbird Lane Press.Muths, E. 1999. Dwarf shrew found in Rocky Mountain National Park. Park Science 19(1): 25.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.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.Muths, E. 1996. Milk composition in a field population of red kangaroos, Macropus rufus (Desmarest) (Macropodidae: Marsupialia). Australian Journal of Zoology. 44: 165-1.
Muths, E. 1991. Substrate Discrimination in Burying Beetles, Nicrophorus orbicollis (Coleoptera: Silphidae). Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society. 64(4): 447-450.**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.
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*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