In 2005, I graduated with a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Denison University in Granville, OH where I studied the terrestrial habitat requirements of pond breeding amphibians. Over the past several decades, the world has seen a major decline in amphibian populations. It is clear that there are several global phenomena contributing to this decline, including habitat loss and fragmentation, the spread of disease, and increased levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the compounding effects of local environmental stressors (e.g. pesticides, fertilizers and industrial processes) on these global factors in relation to amphibian decline are unclear. As a graduate student in Environmental Science at OSU, I am interested in studying whether a synergistic interaction exists between environmental contaminants and two increasingly common diseases (the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and the oomycete Saprolegnia ferax) which might increase amphibian mortality.

Email: michaeli@science.oregonstate.edu