Hardin Waddle, Ph.D.
Biography
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Wildlife Ecology, University of Florida, 2006
M.S. Biology, Florida International University, 2000
B.S., Wildlife Science, Auburn University, 1996
RESEARCH
Hardin Waddle currently works as a research ecologist for the USGS, where he serves as the principal investigator for the south-central region of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). His research interests include population ecology and conservation of amphibians and reptiles, primarily in the wetlands and swamps of the southeastern United States.
Science and Products
Using Occupancy Analysis to Understand Ecological and Environmental Stressors that Affect the Range and Abundance of Gulf Coast Waterdogs (Necturus beyeri) in Louisiana Bayous
Sampling for Gulf Coast waterdogs is providing essential information to better understand the factors that impact the species' occupancy across Louisiana.
Monitoring and Removal of Invasive Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) on the Gulf Coast
WARC researchers are performing visual encounter surveys and passively capturing Cuban treefrogs to remove as many of the invasive anurans as possible.
Prevalence Rates of Snake Fungal Disease and Its Population-level Impacts in a Snake Assemblage in Southwest Louisiana
WARC researchers used visual encounter surveys to determine prevalence rates of snake fungal disease in south-central Louisiana.
Effects of Saltwater Intrusion on Anuran Occupancy in Big Thicket National Preserve, Texas
WARC researchers sampled anuran populations at sites within Big Thicket National Preserve to explore saltwater intrusion on these populations.
Acoustic Monitoring for Two Rare Frog Species in Northwest Louisiana
WARC researchers are using automated recording units to monitor southern crawfish frogs and Strecker's chorus frogs in Louisiana.
Amphibian Research and Occupancy Modeling in the South-Central Region of the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI)
In response to growing public concerns about this loss of biodiversity, the U.S. Congress funded the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), a national program coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Interaction of Environmental Stressors and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) Pathogen Loads on Survival of Green Frogs (Lithobates clamitans)
The U.S. Geological Survey Amphibian Research Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) is using a combination of swabbing, non-lethal tissue sampling, soil and water sampling, and collection of a variety of other environmental variables to determine the relationships between the prevalence and pathogen load of Bd infection and environmental stressors on green treefrog survival.
Diet and Reproductive Phenology in a Recently Established Population of Invasive Cuban Treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis)
WARC researchers are exploring relationships between body size, time of year, sex, and reproductive development to better understand the reproductive phenology of the New Orleans population of Cuban treefrogs compared to Florida populations.
Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) Research in Louisiana in Support of the Species Status Assessment and Listing Decision by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
WARC researchers are investigating individual movement, growth, and population dynamics of alligator snapping turtles in a southwest Louisiana creek.
Capture-Mark-Recapture of Treefrogs at Bayou Teche National Wildlife Refuge
WARC researchers are gathering amphibian data to better understand the impact of natural disasters on treefrog populations and examine post-event processes.
An Online Portal for Managing and Reporting Annual Piping Plover Monitoring Data
Federally-listed as threatened since 1986, the Atlantic Coast Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) population comprises fewer than 2,000 breeding pairs, according to the most recent census data. These breeding pairs are the target of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) species recovery plan.
Monitoring Effects of Barrier Island Restoration on Piping Plovers in Louisiana
The federally threatened piping plover relies on sand-beach habitat year-round for nesting, foraging, and roosting, habitat that is particularly vulnerable to loss and degradation from coastal development, recreation activities, erosion, and sea-level rise.
Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans (Bsal) not detected in an intensive survey of wild North American amphibians
The salamander chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans [Bsal]) is causing massive mortality of salamanders in Europe. The potential for spread via international trade into North America and the high diversity of salamanders has catalyzed concern about Bsal in the U.S. Surveillance programs for invading pathogens must initially meet...
Waddle, Hardin; Grear, Daniel A.; Mosher, Brittany; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Adams, Michael J.; Backlin, Adam R.; Barichivich, William; Brand, Adrianne B.; Bucciarelli, Gary M.; Calhoun, Daniel L.; Chestnut, Tara; Davenport, Jon M.; Dietrich, Andrew E.; Fisher, Robert N.; Glorioso, Brad; Halstead, Brian J.; Hayes, Marc P; Honeycutt, R. Ken; Hossack, Blake R.; Kleeman, Patrick M.; Lemos-Espinal, Julio A; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Atkinson, Robert W.; Muths, Erin L.; Pearl, Christopher; Richgels, Katherine; Robinson, Charles W; Roth, Mark F.; Rowe, Jennifer; Sadinski, Walter; Sigafus, Brent H.; Stasiak, Iga; Sweet, Samuel; Walls, Christopher B.; Watkins-Colwell, Gregory J; White, C. LeAnn; Williams, Lori A; Winzeler, Megan E. A trapping survey targeting head-started alligator snapping turtles in southwest Louisiana
The alligator snapping turtle Macrochelys temminckii is the largest freshwater turtle in North America and is sought after as a food source, primarily in Louisiana. Decades of intensive commercial harvest of alligator snapping turtles has been implicated in population declines. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries initiated a head-...
Glorioso, Brad; Muse, Lindy J.; Hillard, Cory J; Maldonado, Brittany R.; Streeter, Jared; Battaglia, Charles D; Waddle, J. Hardin Effects of barrier island salt marsh restoration on marsh bird occurrence in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
In the Northern Gulf of Mexico, salt marshes are threatened by sea level rise, erosion, and loss of protective barrier islands. These barrier islands provide critical habitat for wildlife, including globally significant populations of marsh and shorebirds. We investigated salt marsh restoration on two Louisiana barrier islands using presence of 8...
Byerly, Paige A.; Waddle, Hardin; Premeaux, Alexis R.; Leberg, Paul L. Egg counts of Southern Leopard Frog, Lithobates sphenocephalus, egg masses from southern Louisiana, USA
Southern Leopard Frogs, Lithobates sphenocephalus (Cope, 1889), lay eggs year-round in their southern range, including Louisiana, but their peak breeding season is the cooler months from late fall through early spring (Mount, 1975; Caldwell, 1986; Dundee and Rossman, 1989). Double-enveloped eggs in globular masses are typically deposited in...
Glorioso, Brad M.; Muse, Lindy J.; Waddle, J. Hardin Herpetofauna occupancy and community composition along a tidal swamp salinity gradient
Occupancy patterns of herpetofauna in most tidal freshwater swamps are unknown. Tidal freshwater swamps currently face multiple threats, including salinization, which can influence their associated plant and animal communities. The impacts of salinization to herpetofauna communities in tidal freshwater swamps have not been assessed. To improve...
Godfrey, Sidney T; Waddle, J. Hardin; Baldwin, Robert F; Conner, William H.; Bridges, William C; Duberstein, Jamie A. Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations
Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be...
Kunz, Bethany K.; Waddle, Hardin; Green, Nicholas S. 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. LeAnn 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, Brent Prepublication communication of research results
Publishing of scientific findings is central to the scientific process, and it is traditional to consider findings “provisional” until accepted by a peer-reviewed journal. Until publication, communication of provisional findings beyond participants in the study is typically limited. This practice helps assure scientific integrity. However, a...
Adams, M.J.; Harris, Reid N.; Campbell Grant, Evan H.; Gray, Matthew J.; Hopkins, M. Camille ; Iverson, Samuel A.; Likens, Robert; Mandica, Mark; Olson, D.H.; Shepack, Alex; Waddle, Hardin Establishment of the exotic invasive Cuban treefrog (Osteopilus septentrionalis) in Louisiana
The Cuban treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis, is native to Cuba, the Bahamas, and the Cayman Islands, and is invasive in areas where it has been introduced and established in the Caribbean as well as Florida. Despite repeated occurrences in several states over many years, it was not believed that Cuban treefrogs had successfully established...
Glorioso, Brad M.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Muse, Lindy J.; Jennings, Nicole D.; Litton, Melanie; Hamilton, Joel; Gergen, Steven; Heckard, David Novel dermatophilosis and concurrent amyloidosis in Sanderlings (Calidris alba) from Louisiana, USA
We observed Sanderlings (Calidris alba) with facial growths in coastal Louisiana, US during summer of 2016. Severe lesions were associated with lethargy and lack of a flight response. We determined that the skin growth etiology was a bacterium of the genus Dermatophilus, rarely reported infecting birds. Sanderlings also exhibited severe...
Shearn-Bochsler, Valerie I.; Schulz, Jessica L.; Dobbs, Robert C.; Lorch, Jeffrey M.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Grear, Daniel A. A new framework for analysing automated acoustic species-detection data: occupancy estimation and optimization of recordings post-processing
The development and use of automated species-detection technologies, such as acoustic recorders, for monitoring wildlife are rapidly expanding. Automated classification algorithms provide a cost- and time-effective means to process information-rich data, but often at the cost of additional detection errors. Appropriate methods are necessary to...
Chambert, Thierry A.; Waddle, J. Hardin; Miller, David A.W.; Walls, Susan C.; Nichols, James D.
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.
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.
Invasive Cuban Treefrogs Leap Out of Florida, Establish First Known Population in Louisiana
A population of exotic invasive Cuban treefrogs has been discovered in New Orleans, more than 430 miles (700 kilometers) from the nearest known population in Florida, making this the first known breeding population in the mainland United States outside that state, reports a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey.
Scroll down to hear and download calls of Cuban treefrogs and two native treefrogs.
Snake Fungal Disease Found in Louisiana
Snake fungal disease, or SFD, a disease causing high mortality rates in some species of snakes, has been found in Louisiana for the first time, according to a new study by U.S. Geological Survey scientists. SFD now has been confirmed in at least 16 states in the Eastern and Midwestern United States.
Everglades’ Alligator Numbers Drop after Dry Years
Alligators and the Everglades go hand-in-hand, and as water conditions change in the greater Everglades ecosystem, gators are one of the key species that could be affected.