Steven Brady
PhD CandidateResearch
My research is aimed at understanding the response of wildlife to changes in the environment associated with land development. In particular, I am interested in understanding how the presence of roads influences amphibian populations.
I focus my research on ephemeral wetlands and the biological organisms found therein. Amphibians—such as wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)—figure prominently in these systems. These amphibian species act as model organisms for pursuing questions about the long-term impacts of land development. Annual explosive breeding behavior combined with small scale population structure are key characteristics that make these organisms ideally suited to answering questions that lie on the frontier of understanding the interaction of the natural world and the human enterprise. As well, these species posses the charisma and good looks to get most anyone fired up about life in ephemeral pools!
