World Congress of Herpetology

The World Congress of Herpetology proudly welcomes the following special presentations to the 2012 program:

Karen Warkentin

Warkentin conducting field accelerometry (left) and Hatchon attack (right)

Presentation Date: Thursday August 9, 2012 (10:40am)

Capsule Bio: Warkentin studies the integrative biology of early life stages of amphibians. She discovered predator-induced hatching in red-eyed treefrogs and is broadly interested in environmentally cued hatching across taxa. Her research examines phenotypic plasticity in hatching timing from mechanistic, evolutionary and ecological perspectives in Central American leaf-breeding hylids and in vernal pool amphibians in Massachusetts. Her work addresses questions ranging from how embryos use vibrations to assess risk to the consequences of hatching timing for population processes.

Department of Biology, Boston University (Professor)
5 Cummington Street
Boston, MA 02215, USA
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Research Associate)
Gamboa Laboratory, Panama
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Website: http://people.bu.edu/kwarken/

Susan E. Evans

Presentation Date: Friday August 10, 2012 (9:00am)

Capsule Bio: My research focuses on the evolutionary history and relationships of reptiles and amphibians, particularly lizards and their relatives. The lab takes an integrated approach, combining comparative anatomy, palaeontology, phylogenetic analysis and computer modeling in collaboration with colleagues in Europe, North America, China, Japan, and India. Together we have published more than 120 papers and book chapters on a range of Mesozoic lissamphibians, lepidosaurs and other taxa (including some of the earliest representatives of modern groups), as well as morphological and functional studies of modern lizards and Sphenodon. In recent years, with funding from the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, we have been working with colleagues at the York-Hull Medical School using finite element analysis (FEA) and multibody dynamics (MDA) in a novel way to explore the functional anatomy and evolution of the lepidosaur skull.

University College London
Gower Street
London, UK  WC1E 6BT
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Evans web page: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/cdb/research/evans
Evans lab web page: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/cdb/research/evans/evans_lab
Hull Group page: http://www2.hull.ac.uk/science/engineering/research/biomechanics-and-evolution.aspx


Tyrone B. Hayes

Presentation Date: Thursday August 9, 2012 (8:35am)

Capsule Bio: My research focuses on the role of steroid hormones in amphibian development and I conduct both laboratory and field studies in the U.S. and Africa. The two main areas of interest are metamorphosis and sex differentiation, but I am also interested in growth (larval and adult) and hormonal regulation of reproductive behavior. My work addresses problems on several levels including ecological, organismal, and molecular questions. My main goal is to synthesize ecological/evolutionary, organismal/physiological, and biochemical/molecular studies to learn how an animal translates changes in its external environment to internal changes, how these internal changes are coordinated, what molecular mechanisms are involved, and in turn, how changes at the molecular level affect an animal's ability to adapt to the changes in its external environment. Most recently, my studies have been used as models to develop laboratory and field techniques to examine the effects of endocrine disrupting chemical contaminants on amphibian development. My research now focuses on the effects of pesticides on larval development and the potential role of pesticides in amphibian declines.

University of California, Berkeley
Department of Integrative Biology
3060 Valley Life Sciences Building, #3140
Berkeley, CA 94720
Tel. 510-643-1055
Fax 510-643-6264
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Kelly R. Zamudio

Mark-Oliver Rödel

Presentation Date: Sunday August 12, 2012 (8:00am)

Capsule Bio: I am curator of herpetology at the museum of natural history in Berlin and thus responsible for one of the most important collections in herpetology, including type specimens from almost 2000 taxa. Concerning my own research I am particularly interested in what factors shape animal communities (in space and time), how and why species interact in particular ways and if and how natural and anthropogenic environmental changes influences species and species communities. The research of my group thus aims at integrating research questions from systematic zoology, biogeography, community/functional ecology and conservation biology. Our methods range from traditional approaches to modern modelling and molecular techniques and from field work to laboratory experiments. Our model organisms are predominantly amphibians, the geographic focus is on western Africa and Europe. In order to base our analyses on a sound taxonomy, we close respective gaps by own faunistic and taxonomic research. An important part of my work is the training of students, in particular students from African countries.

Museum für Naturkunde
Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions-und Biodiversitätsforschung an der
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Invalidenstrasse 43
10115 Berlin, Germany
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Other Feature Presentations:

ASIH AES Plenary Speaker: Lara Ferry, Friday August 10, 2012 (8:15am)

HL Distinguished Herpetologist: Laurie J. Vitt, Saturday August 11, 2012 (8:00am)

SSAR President’s Travelogue: Harry Greene, Wednesday August 8, 2012 (7:00pm)

CAH/ACH Feature Speaker: Richard Wassersug, Friday August 10, 2012 (8:00pm)