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... 39 specimens), University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (13 specimens), and the private collections of Richard Thomas and Rafael Joglar (17 ... Stewart (1995) found that anuran declines in 19841989 at El Yunque (El Verde field station),... more
... 39 specimens), University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (13 specimens), and the private collections of Richard Thomas and Rafael Joglar (17 ... Stewart (1995) found that anuran declines in 19841989 at El Yunque (El Verde field station), were correlated with the distribution of ...
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Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Geography, Demography, Molecular Evolution, and 15 moreBiology, Medicine, Genetic Diversity, Molecular, Mitochondrial DNA, Haplotypes, Animals, Anura, Hawaii, Fragmentation, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Origins, Genetic variation, Eleutherodactylus Coqui, and Genetic
Research Interests: Evolutionary Biology, Genetics, Geography, Demography, Phylogeography, and 15 morePopulation Genetics, Molecular Evolution, Biology, Medicine, Genetic Diversity, Molecular, Phylogeny, Mitochondrial DNA, Haplotypes, Animals, Anura, Hawaii, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, Phylogenetic Tree, and Genetic variation
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Abstract. With a total area of 8900 km2, Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles. It is divided in three physiographic regions or areas of relief: the mountainous interior, the karst region, and the coastal plains and valleys.... more
Abstract. With a total area of 8900 km2, Puerto Rico is the smallest of the Greater Antilles. It is divided in three physiographic regions or areas of relief: the mountainous interior, the karst region, and the coastal plains and valleys. The island comprises six ecological life zones: subtropical dry forest, subtropical moist forest, subtropical wet forest, subtropical rain forest, lower montane wet forest and lower montane rain forest. The herpetofauna of Puerto Rico consists of 25 species of amphibians (19 native, six introduced) and 56 species of reptiles (52 native, four introduced). The goal of this paper is to describe some of the present studies directed towards the conservation of Puerto Rican herpetofauna. Eleutherodactylus karlschmidti, E. jasperi and E. eneidae have not been seen or heard since 1976, 1981 and 1990, respectively, and are probably extinct. Since 2000, the potential causes of amphibian declines in Puerto Rico have been studied, and a synergistic interaction...
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In Puerto Rico, the Green Iguana, Iguana iguana, is considered an introduced and invasive species responsible for annual losses estimated in millions of dollars to local governmental and private sectors. The purpose of this study was to... more
In Puerto Rico, the Green Iguana, Iguana iguana, is considered an introduced and invasive species responsible for annual losses estimated in millions of dollars to local governmental and private sectors. The purpose of this study was to use GAP analyses to generate habitat distribution models for Green Iguanas in Puerto Rico. The two models had 79.7% and 88.4% predictability, respectively. The second model, which included road corridors as a habitat widely known to be used by iguanas for dispersal, basking, and mating displays, might have overestimated the Green Iguana’s distribution. The use of one model over the other should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, depending on habitat type. These habitat modeling and mapping efforts should be repeated periodically as new distributional records are obtained and the land-cover changes to provide land managers an updated distribution of this species in the islands.
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There are 17 described species of Eleutherodactylus in Puerto Rico, some more common than others. The use of harmonics as a means of vocalization has been little studied in the Caribbean. As part of a long-term study of the evolution of... more
There are 17 described species of Eleutherodactylus in Puerto Rico, some more common than others. The use of harmonics as a means of vocalization has been little studied in the Caribbean. As part of a long-term study of the evolution of sonic communication in Puerto Rican Eleutherodactylus frogs, we document the use harmonics in three common but distinct Puerto Rican endemic species: E. coqui, E. antillensis, and E. brittoni. This study focuses only on the description of these vocalizations using computer software not on the behavioral implications of these vocalizations.
Bioacoustics is an interdisciplinary science that combines biology, acoustics, and mathematics. This discipline can be used to study population ecology and behavior. Furthermore, we can use this tool to assess a population and suggest if... more
Bioacoustics is an interdisciplinary science that combines biology, acoustics, and mathematics. This discipline can be used to study population ecology and behavior. Furthermore, we can use this tool to assess a population and suggest if a species of interest may be in a transitional state of becoming a new species by allopatric speciation. Amphibians communicate via sound and the environment has a key role in metabolism and sound dispersion. By analyzing temporal and spectral properties of acoustical communication in anurans, we can understand better how these animals are evolving to cope with their ever-changing environment. We studied the variation in acoustic parameters among five populations each of the red-eye coqui, Eleutherodactylus antillensis (Reinhardt and Lutken, 1863) and the common coqui, E. coqui Thomas, 1966 across the Puerto Rico Bank. These species are changing their vocalizations. Some populations have higher sound frequencies than other conspecific populations; o...
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Molecular Laboratory (J. Wood, Boulder, Colorado, USA) for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay. Three of the fi ve samples were Bd positive. The voucher specimens are deposited in the Saint Joseph’s College zoology collection.Annual... more
Molecular Laboratory (J. Wood, Boulder, Colorado, USA) for PCR (polymerase chain reaction) assay. Three of the fi ve samples were Bd positive. The voucher specimens are deposited in the Saint Joseph’s College zoology collection.Annual larval surveys at the study site indicate that A. jeffersonianum and A. opacum (Marbled Salamander) populations have declined over the past ten years (R. Brodman, unpubl. data). Disease could be a cause of decline; however, we have not found dead or moribund larvae in previous years. To our knowledge, this is the fi rst published case of Bd on larval salamanders. It should on larval salamanders. It should be noted that we have not determined the direct cause of mortality of these larval salamanders, nor the cause of the physical lesions, and it is possible that Bd and/or the associated physical lesions and/or the associated physical lesions could be the cause of mortality.
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In their Policy Forum'Confronting amphibian declines and... more
In their Policy Forum'Confronting amphibian declines and extinctions'(7 July, p. 48), JR Mendelson III and colleagues offer a strategy for'stopping'the widespread losses of frogs, toads, and salamanders. Disease research and captive breeding figure prominently in their call for action.
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... 1987. The diet of the Hispaniolan snake Antillophis parvifrons (Colubridae). J. Herpetol. 21:330-334. ... 1998. His-paniolan Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactyli-dae) as hosts of immature Terranova (Nematoda: Ascarididae), with... more
... 1987. The diet of the Hispaniolan snake Antillophis parvifrons (Colubridae). J. Herpetol. 21:330-334. ... 1998. His-paniolan Eleutherodactylus (Anura: Leptodactyli-dae) as hosts of immature Terranova (Nematoda: Ascarididae), with notes on additional nematodes. Caribb. J. Sci. ...
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... 39 specimens), University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (13 specimens), and the private collections of Richard Thomas and Rafael Joglar (17 ... Stewart (1995) found that anuran declines in 19841989 at El Yunque (El Verde field station),... more
... 39 specimens), University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (13 specimens), and the private collections of Richard Thomas and Rafael Joglar (17 ... Stewart (1995) found that anuran declines in 19841989 at El Yunque (El Verde field station), were correlated with the distribution of ...
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... Finally, the Mona Island marine turtle monitoring program is discussed and compared to other similar programs in Puerto Rico. ... Included as native species are five marine turtles that have a wide distribution in the West Indies and... more
... Finally, the Mona Island marine turtle monitoring program is discussed and compared to other similar programs in Puerto Rico. ... Included as native species are five marine turtles that have a wide distribution in the West Indies and in the rest of the world. ...
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Fist wild record of reproduction of Mona Island Tree Frog (Eleuterodactylus monensis).