Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation BiologyDr. Brian D. Todd:
Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Wildlife Biology
btodd@ucdavis.edu
Lab Homepage:
Dr. Brian Todd Home Page
Office: 1077 Academic Surge
Phone: (530) soon
Fax: n/a
Brian's CV (PDF)
Research Interest:
I am interested in understanding the factors that affect the distribution, abundance, and persistence of wildlife populations. Although my work primarily focuses on the ecology and conservation of reptiles and amphibians, my primary motivation is to shed light on the broader conservation questions that ultimately affect all forms of wildlife and the environments in which they live. Consequently, much of my research focuses on several fundamental factors that lead to the imperilment of species and populations. For example, my dissertation research at the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab focused on the effects of forest harvesting on population persistence of amphibians and reptiles. More recently, I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Virginia Tech studying the effects of environmental contamination on amphibian populations.
I continue to conduct research with the goal of answering questions about the ways in which wildlife respond to our rapidly changing environment. I am particularly interested in how amphibians and reptiles respond to changing climate, habitat loss, and the introduction of invasive species or novel pathogens such as the amphibian chytrid disease, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis.
Academic History:
2008 PhD - Ecology. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Advisor: Dr. J. Whitfield Gibbons.
2002 MS - Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development.
The University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Advisor: Dr. William K. Fitt.
2000 BS - Ecology. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA. cum laude
Selected Publications:
Todd, B.D., T.M. Luhring, B.B. Rothermel, and J.W. Gibbons. 2009. Effects of forest removal on amphibian migrations: implications for habitat and landscape connectivity. Journal of Applied Ecology 46:554-561.
Todd, B.D., and K.M. Andrews. 2008. Response of a reptile guild to forest harvesting. Conservation Biology 22(3):753-761.
Todd, B.D., J.D. Willson, C.T. Winne, R.D. Semlitsch, and J. W. Gibbons. 2008. Ecology of the Southeastern Crowned Snake, Tantilla coronata. Copeia 2008(2):388-394.
Todd, B.D. 2007. Parasites lost? An overlooked hypothesis for the evolution of alternative reproductive strategies in amphibians. The American Naturalist 170(5):793-799.
Todd, B.D. and B.B. Rothermel. 2006. Assessing quality of clearcut habitats for amphibians: effects on abundances versus vital rates in the southern toad (Bufo terrestris). Biological Conservation 133(2):178-185.