Empro Ross Alford ~ Adjunct Professor

Professor Ross Alford is broadly interested in ecology, animal behaviour, conservation biology, and evolution. Most of his research is focused on the ecology, behaviour, and conservation biology of frogs and their larvae, although he and his postgraduate students and research associates also work on a variety of reptiles and on freshwater and marine invertebrates.

Since the early 1990s, he has been strongly involved in research aimed at understanding the problem of global amphibian declines and how to prevent and reverse them. This has included collaborative research in North and Central America, and extensive collaborations with many researchers throughout the world.

Much of his present research is focused on understanding the complex host-pathogen relationships between frogs and the amphibian chytrid fungus, and how it is modified by individual behaviour, immune responses, and the assemblage of other microbes inhabiting frog skin.

Interests

Research

• Ecology
• Animal Behaviour
• Conservation Biology
• Evolution

Research Disciplines

• Environmental Science and Management (0502)
• Ecology (0602)
• Zoology (0608)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species (9604)
• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Bower D, Lips K, Amepou Y, Richards S, Dahl C, Nagombi E, Supuma M, Dabek L, Alford R, Schwarzkopf L, Ziembicki M, Noro J, Hamidy A, Gillespie G, Berger L, Eisemberg C, Li Y, Liu X, Jennings C, Tjaturadi B, Peters A, Krockenberger A, Nason D, Kusrini M, Webb R, Skerratt L, Banks C, Mack A, Georges A and Clulow S (2019) Island of opportunity: can New Guinea protect amphibians from a globally emerging pathogen? Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17 (6), pp. 348-354, DOI:10.1002/fee.2057.
• Brown G, Schwarzkopf L, Alford R, Bower D and Shine R (2019) Spinal arthritis in invasive cane toads is linked to rate of dispersal as well as to latitude. Scientific Reports, 9, Article: 13965, DOI:10.1038/s41598-019-50314-w.
• McKnight D, Huerlimann R, Bower D, Schwarzkopf L, Alford R and Zenger K (2019) microDecon: a highly accurate read‐subtraction tool for the post‐sequencing removal of contamination in metabarcoding studies. Environmental DNA, 1 (1), pp. 14-25, DOI:10.1002/edn3.11.
• McKnight D, Lal M, Bower D, Schwarzkopf L, Alford R and Zenger K (2019) The return of the frogs: the importance of habitat refugia in maintaining diversity during a disease outbreak. Molecular Ecology, 28 (11), pp. 2731-2745, DOI:10.1111/mec.15108.
• McKnight D, Huerlimann R, Bower D, Schwarzkopf L, Alford R and Zenger K (2019) Methods for normalizing microbiome data: an ecological perspective. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10 (3), pp. 389-400, DOI:10.1111/2041-210X.13115.
• Schmidt K, Richards S, Pearson R, Alford R and Puschendorf R (2019) Seasonal, annual and decadal change in tadpole populations in tropical Australian streams. Amphibia-Reptilia, 40 (4), pp. 447-459, DOI:10.1163/15685381-20191168.
• Schmidt K, Pearson R, Alford R and Puschendorf R (2019) Tadpole species have variable roles in litter breakdown, sediment removal, and nutrient cycling in a tropical stream. Freshwater science, 38 (1), pp. 103-112, DOI:10.1086/701673.
• Bell S, Garland S and Alford R (2018) Increased numbers of culturable inhibitory bacterial taxa may mitigate the effects of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Australian wet tropics frogs. Frontiers In Microbiology, 9, Article: 1604, DOI:10.3389/fmicb.2018.01604.
• Bower D, Yasumiba K, Trumbo D, Alford R and Schwarzkopf L (2018) Spinal arthritis in cane toads across the Australian landscape. Scientific Reports, 8, Article: 12458, DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-30099-0.
• Sapsford S, Alford R and Schwarzkopf L (2018) Disentangling causes of seasonal infection prevalence patterns: tropical tadpoles and chytridiomycosis as a model system. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 130 (2), pp. 83-93, DOI:10.3354/dao03269.
• Bower D, Mengersen K, Alford R and Schwarzkopf L (2017) Using a Bayesian network to clarify areas requiring research in a host–pathogen system. Conservation Biology, 31 (6), pp. 1373-1382, DOI:10.1111/cobi.12950.
• Greenspan S, Bower D, Roznik E, Pike D, Marantelli G, Alford R, Schwarzkopf L and Scheffers B (2017) Infection increases vulnerability to climate change via effects on host thermal tolerance. Scientific Reports, 7, Article: 9349, DOI:10.1038/s41598-017-09950-3.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 147+ research outputs authored by Empro Ross Alford from 1989 onwards.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Completed

• The ecological role of tadpoles in streams of the Australian Wet Tropics (2015, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Acoustic Behaviour and Mating System of Cane Toads (Rhinella marina): Understanding and Exploiting Vocal Communication for Application to Control (2015, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Life finds a way: The recovery of frog populations from a chytridiomycosis outbreak (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The impacts of cattle grazing on arboreal reptiles (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Dynamics of the Amphibian Chytrid Fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in Isolated Patches of Lowland Rainforest. (2015, Masters , Associate Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

• Greenspan, S. (2017) Frog data for Chapter 5 of PhD thesis: Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. James Cook University
• Greenspan, S. (2017) Fungus data for Chapter 5 of PhD thesis: Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. James Cook University
• Greenspan, S. (2017) Infection load data for Chapter 3 of PhD thesis: Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. James Cook University
• Greenspan, S. (2017) White blood cell profile data for Chapter 3 of PhD thesis: Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. James Cook University
• Greenspan, S. (2017) Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis infection data for Chapter 4 of PhD thesis: Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis. James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.