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 management (4104)
• Ecology (3103)
• Zoology (3109)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Fresh, ground and surface water systems and management (1803)

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

• Callaghan C, Roberts J, Poore A, Alford R, Cogger H and Rowley J (2020) Citizen science data accurately predicts expert-derived species richness at a continental scale when sampling thresholds are met. Biodiversity and Conservation, 29, pp. 1323-1337, DOI:10.1007/s10531-020-01937-3.
• Gillespie G, Roberts J, Hunter D, Hoskin C, Alford R, Heard G, Hines H, Lemckert F, Newell D and Scheele B (2020) Status and priority conservation actions for Australian frog species. Biological Conservation, 247, Article: 108543, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108543.
• McKnight D, Zenger K, Alford R and Huerlimann R (2020) Microbiome diversity and composition varies across body areas in a freshwater turtle. Microbiology, 166 (5), pp. 440-452, DOI:10.1099/mic.0.000904.
• McKnight D, Carr L, Bower D, Schwarzkopf L, Alford R and Zenger K (2020) Infection dynamics, dispersal, and adaptation: understanding the lack of recovery in a remnant frog population following a disease outbreak. Heredity, 125, pp. 110-123, DOI:10.1038/s41437-020-0324-x.
• Stevenson L, Roznik E, Greenspan S, Alford R and Pike D (2020) Host thermoregulatory constraints predict growth of an amphibian chytrid pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis). Journal of Thermal Biology, 87, Article: 102472, DOI:10.1016/j.jtherbio.2019.102472.
• 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.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 152+ 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

• Life finds a way: the recovery of frog populations from a chytridiomycosis outbreak (2019, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Thermal thresholds in the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• The impacts of cattle grazing on arboreal reptiles (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

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

• 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
• Greenspan, S. (2017) Frog data for Chapter 5 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.