Embedded Files
Spring / Summer 2025 Congrats!
Spring / Summer 2025 Congrats!
Congrats to Minjee Choe on successfully defending her MS thesis, "Shortening photoperiod accelerates larval development in green frogs (Rana clamitans)."
Congrats to Dr. Troy Neptune for being awarded a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Postdoctoral Award to study the effects of artificial light at night on amphibians with Drs. Katharina Ruthsatz and Pablo Burraco at the Doñana Biological Station in Spain. Dr. Neptune will also be joining the faculty at the Cleveland Institute of Art this fall before his Fulbright begins. Read about Troy's Fulbright in the CWRU Daily.
April 2025
April 2025
Catching up with Dr. Kat Krynak and some of her current ONU students at the OHPARC (Ohio Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) meeting
2025 Salamanders! Another good field season for the Ambystoma populations that we study. Numbers of salamanders remain high in the restored wetlands.
Mike, Brady, Troy and Haley in the field
Mike, Brady, Troy and Haley in the field
An Ambystoma found in the field.
An Ambystoma found in the field.
Ambystoma eggs on a branch.
Ambystoma eggs on a branch.
2024 Salamanders! With the unusually warm February weather, we began our annual salamander surveys. Bingo! Two female unisexual Ambystoma salamanders were found on February 9th. This is the earliest we have detected the salamanders since the project started in 2011.
Mike, Troy, Brady in the field
Mike, Troy, Brady in the field
Brady checking for salamanders
Brady checking for salamanders
First Ambystoma of 2024!
First Ambystoma of 2024!
August 2023 - Congrats!
August 2023 - Congrats!
Congrats to postdoctoral scholar Dr. Cassandra Thompson on accepting a faculty position at Lees-McRae College!
Congrats to Troy Neptune for publishing a paper on his research on photoperiod and amphibian development! Neptune, T.C. and M.F. Benard. 2023. Photoperiod effects in a freshwater community: Amphibian larvae develop faster and zooplankton abundance increases under an early‐season photoperiod. Ecology and Evolution. 13(8)e10400. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10400
Congrats to Alumnus David Dimitrie for publishing some of his research on habitat selection in gray treefrogs! Dimitrie, D.A. and M.F. Benard. 2023. Female treefrog preference for breeding sites matches offspring performance in the presence of two anuran competitors. Ecology. e4164. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4164
Spring-Summer 2023 fieldwork
Prepping pens for experiments
Filling mesocosms
Learning finer points of frog identification
Explaining summer research
Open-top warming chambers
Ambystoma larvae size variation
End-of-semester lunch - May 2023
End-of-semester lunch - May 2023
L to R: Brady, Cassie, Troy, Mindy, Melina, Mike, Rock, Idris.
Congrats to Idris on graduating and successful completion of Biology Honors Thesis!
February-March 2023 Salamander Season
Unisexual Ambystoma
Idris, Brady, Mindy in field
Idris, Brady, Mindy in field
Checking funnel trap
Checking funnel trap
May 2022: Experiment set-up time
Troy and Rock filling mesocosms at the CWRU Farm to prepare for Troy's experiments on the effects of photoperiod and temperature on tadpole development and post-metamorphic traits.
March 2022: Unisexual Ambystoma season
Adult Ambystoma season wrapped up in early March. We captured over 500 unisexual Ambystoma salamanders and smallmouth salamanders at the restoration sites we study. Good news - the salamanders are colonizing the restored wetlands on their own!
Belly photo of unisexual Ambystoma salamander used to identify individuals.
Belly photo of unisexual Ambystoma salamander used to identify individuals.
Salamanders will still be moving under ice.
Salamanders will still be moving under ice.
Setting traps in restored wetlands to capture adult salamanders.
Setting traps in restored wetlands to capture adult salamanders.
27 February 2022: Ohio PARC and OBS meeting
Four of us traveled to the 2022 joint meeting of Ohio PARC and Ohio Biological Survey held in Columbus, Ohio. It was a great chance to share our research and connect with colleagues from around Ohio.
Alyssa's example of different intensities of treefrog calls based on NAAMP scoring.
David's Ambystoma belly identification challenge.
Ph.D. candidate Troy Neptune with his poster on photoperiod effects on tadpole development.
Undergraduate Alyssa Magliaro (L) with lab alum Dr. Kat Krynak (R) at Alyssa's poster about environmental drivers of calling behavior in frogs.
Undergraduate David Sacco with his poster on computer-aided recognition of individual Ambystoma salamanders based on belly patterns.
Page updated
Report abuse