Curriculum Vitae
Education
Ph.D., University of California Santa Barbara. Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. 2017.
M.A., University of California Santa Barbara. Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. 2013.
B.A., Prescott College. Environmental Studies with an emphasis in Conservation Biology. 2003.
Professional Experience
Ecologist, Earth Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, September 2020 - present.
Research Scientist, Washington State University, May 2020 - December 2022.
Postdoctoral Researcher, Yosemite National Park, September 2019 - August 2020.
Research Associate, University of California Santa Barbara—
Earth Research Institute, August 2019 - September 2020;
Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Ynez, California; March - December 2018;
Institute for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research, Santa Barbara, California; April - June 2017.
Lecturer, University of California Santa Barbara Department of Environmental Studies. April 2017 - June 2019.
Biological Science Technician (Assistant Crew Lead), U.S. National Park Service, Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, Three Rivers, California. July - September 2017; July - September 2018; July - August 2019.
Ecologist, Cardno/RCS Industries, Concord, California. May - September 2018.
Fish and Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura, California. October 2008 - September 2015.
Scientific Aide, California Department of Fish and Game, Marine Region, Santa Barbara, California. June - October 2008.
Research Biologist, Michigan Natural Features Inventory, Kalamazoo, Michigan. April - August 2007.
Research Associate/Administrative Assistant, University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Ann Arbor, Michigan. September 2006 - August 2008.
Ornithological Research Assistant, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and the Environment, Ann Arbor, Michigan. April - August 2006.
Release Biologist, Institute for Wildlife Studies, San Clemente Island Naval Auxiliary, California. January - October 2005.
Scientific Technician—Biologist, University of Guelph Department of Integrative Biology, Ear Falls, Ontario, Canada. March - December 2004.
Biological Research Assistant, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Ecología, Hermosillo, Sonora, México. January - March 2004.
Resource Education Ranger, U.S. National Park Service, Olympic National Park, Kalaloch & Forks, Washington. May - September 2003.
Fellowships, Grants, Contracts, & Awards
Reintroduction feasibility study for the foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii), southwestern California clade. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - 2020 - 2025
Reintroduction feasibility for foothill yellow-legged frogs in the Yosemite region. Yosemite Conservancy - 2022
Yosemite Valley’s California red-legged frogs: past, present, and future. Yosemite Conservancy - 2020 - 2021
Monitoring Yosemite Valley’s California red-legged frogs. Yosemite Conservancy - 2019
Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation Professional Development Grant - 2019
Ecological Society of America Travel Award - 2019
University of California Santa Barbara Schuyler Lecturer Fund Grant - 2019
University of California Santa Barbara Doctoral Student Travel Grant - 2016
Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation Fellowship - 2014
Broida-Hirschfelder Graduate Fellowship - 2014 - 2015
Brython Davis Endowment Graduate Fellowship - 2014 - 2015
University of California Santa Barbara Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology Block Grants - 2011 - 2014
Brython Davis Endowment Graduate Fellowships - 2011, 2012, 2013
Worster Award for Graduate-Undergraduate Research Pairing - 2013
Leal Ann Kerry Mertes Scholarship - 2012
University of California Santa Barbara Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology Fellowship - 2010 - 2011
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service STAR Awards - 2009, 2014, 2015
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Performance Awards - 2008 - 2014
Peer-reviewed Publications (access full text via publications page)
Belasen, A. M., R. A. Peek, A. J. Adams, I. D. Russell, M. E. De León, M. J. Adams, J. Bettaso, K. G. H. Breedveld, A. Catenazzi, C. P. Dillingham, D. A. Grear, B. J. Halstead, P. G. Johnson, P. M. Kleeman, M. S. Koo, C. W. Koppl, J. D. Lauder, G. Padgett-Flohr, J. Piovia-Scott, K. L. Pope, V. Vredenburg, M. Westphal, K. Wiseman, and S. J. Kupferberg. 2024. Chytrid infections exhibit historical spread and contemporary seasonality in a declining stream-breeding frog. Royal Society Open Science 11:231270.
Mychajliw, A.M., A.J. Adams, K.C. Brown, B.T. Campbell, M. Hardesty-Moore, Z.S. Welch, H.M. Page, J.R. Southon, S.D. Cooper, and P.S. Alagona. 2024. Coupled social and ecological change drove the historical extinction of the California grizzly bear (Ursus arctos californicus). Proceedings of the Royal Society B 290: 20230921.
Grasso, R.L., Tatarian, P.J., M.K. Santora, S.J. Kupferberg, J.O. Williams, C.E. Lillard, J.B. Bushell, R.M. Stiles, A.J. Adams, and N.R. Daniele. 2023. Reproductive Phenology of the California Red-Legged Frog (Rana draytonii) in the Sierra Nevada of California, USA. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 18:427-435.
Adams, A.J., R.L. Grasso, and R.L. Mazur. 2023. Safe harbor: translocating California red-legged frogs to a climate refuge in Yosemite National Park. Animal Conservation: 1-3
Adams, A.J., K.C. Brown, M. R. Jennings, and R.L. Grasso. 2023. Homecoming or new pad: historical evidence for California red-legged frogs and other amphibians in the Yosemite region, California. Northwestern Naturalist 104:1-25.
Adams, A.J., J. Bushell, and R.L. Grasso. 2022. To Treat or Not to Treat? Experimental Pathogen Exposure, Treatment, and Release of a Threatened Amphibian. Ecosphere 13:e4294.
Adams, A.J., A. Peralta-Garcia, C.A. Flores-López, J. H. Valdez-Villavicencio, and Cheryl J. Briggs. 2022. High fungal pathogen loads and prevalence in Baja California amphibian communities: The importance of species, elevation, and historical context. Global Ecology and Conservation 33:e01968.
Kupferberg, S. J., Moidu, H., Adams, A. J., Catenazzi, A., Grefsrud, M., Bobzien, S., Leidy, R., & Carlson, S. M. 2021. Seasonal drought and its effects on frog population dynamics and amphibian disease in intermittent streams. Ecohydrology:e2395.
Balantic, C., A.J. Adams, S. Gross, R. Mazur, S. Sawyer, J. Tucker, M. Vernon, C. Mengelt, J. Morales, J.H. Thorne, T.M. Brown, N. Athearn, and T.M. Morelli. 2021. Toward climate change refugia conservation at an ecoregion scale. Conservation Science and Practice: e497.
Adams, A.J., A. Pessier, P. Cranston, and R.L. Grasso. 2020. Chytridiomycosis-induced mortality in a threatened anuran. PLoS One 15:e0241119.
Forbes, E., P.S. Alagona, A.J. Adams, S.E. Anderson, K.C. Brown, J. Colby, S.D. Cooper, S.M. Denny, E.H. Hiroyasu, R. Heilmayr, B.E. Kendall, J.A. Martin, M. Hardesty-Moore, A.M. Mychajliw, B.P. Tyrrell, and Z.S. Welch. 2020. Analogies for a No-Analog World: Tackling Uncertainties in Reintroduction Planning. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 35:551-554.
Adams, A.J. 2020. Using Natural History to Unlock the Past for the Future of Ecological Inquiry. Journal of Natural History Education and Experience 14:3-5.
McKeon, S., L. Weber, A.J. Adams, and T.L. Fleischner. 2019. Human Dimensions: Natural History as the Innate Foundation of Ecology. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 101:e01656.
Peralta-García, A., A.J. Adams, C.J. Briggs, P. Galina-Tessaro, J.H. Valdez-Villavicencio, B.D. Hollingsworth, H.B. Shaffer, and R.N. Fisher. 2018. Occurrence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in anurans of the Mediterranean region of Baja California, México. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 127:193-200.
Adams, A.J., A.P. Pessier, and C.J. Briggs. 2017. Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction. Ecology and Evolution 7:10216-10232.
Adams, A.J., S.J. Kupferberg, M.Q. Wilber, M. Grefsrud, S. Bobzien, V.T. Vredenburg, and C.J. Briggs. 2017. Extreme drought, host density, sex, and bullfrogs influence fungal pathogen infection in a declining lotic amphibian. Ecosphere 8:e01740.
Adams, A.J., C.J. Dellith, and S.S. Sweet. 2016. Rana aurora (Northern red-legged frog) Transport. Herpetological Review 47:648.
Adams, A.J., J.P. LaBonte, K.L. Richards-Hrdlicka, M.J. Ball, M.H. Toothman, and C.J. Briggs. 2015. DNA extraction method affects detection of a fungal pathogen in specimens using qPCR. PLoS ONE 10: e0135389.
Mendelson, J.R., and A.J. Adams. 2014. Diadophis punctatus (Ring-necked snake) Diet. Herpetological Review 45: 709-710.
Technical Publications & Policy Documents
Adams, A.J. 2023. Southern Sierra Nevada foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) survey report with recovery planning recommendations. Prepared for: U.S. National Park Service, Yosemite National Park, El Portal, California. 20 pp.
Adams, A.J. 2022. Surveys for amphibian chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area at California red-legged frog (Rana draytonii) reintroduction sites: 2020-2021. Prepared for: U.S. National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Thousand Oaks, California. 10 pp.
Adams, A.J., S.J. Kupferberg, and C.S. Goldberg. 2022. South Coast DPS foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) reintroduction feasibility study: habitat suitability assessment report. Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura, California. 10 pp.
Adams, A.J. 2021. Southern Sierra Nevada foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) egg mass surveys: Spring 2021, with October 2021 addendum. Prepared for: U.S. National Park Service, Yosemite National Park. El Portal, California: 16 pp.
Adams, A.J., and C.S. Goldberg. 2021. Southern Sierra Nevada foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) reintroduction feasibility study and recommendations for recovery actions: 2020 report. Prepared for: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Science Applications, Sacramento, California. 34 pp.
Adams, A.J. 2018. Final report and recommendations for pond management at the University of California Natural Reserve System’s Sedgwick Reserve. Prepared for Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Ynez, California. 49 pp.
Adams, A.J., and E.A. Wilson. 2017. Final Report on Amphibian Surveys: University of California Santa Barbara Sedgwick Reserve, Winter 2017. Prepared for Sedgwick Reserve, Santa Ynez, California. 22 pp.
Goldberg, J., S. Jewell, A. Picco, A. Adams, J. Bader, J. Ballard, and I. Posano. 2016. Interim Rule: Injurious Wildlife Species; Listing Salamanders Due to Risk of Salamander Chytrid Fungus. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C. 23 pp.
Adams, A.J., C. Darst, and C. Rutherford. 2015. Draft recovery plan for the Santa Barbara County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, California: 76 pp.
Adams, A.J., and K. Drexhage. 2009. California tiger salamander (Ambystoma californiense), Santa Barbara County Distinct Population Segment 5-year review: Summary and evaluation. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office, Ventura, California: 59 pp.
Popular Science
Adams, A.J. 2022. ‘Vaccinating’ frogs may or may not protect them against a pandemic – but it does provide another option for conservation. The Conversation.
Adams, A.J. 2018. Thinking Like a Hungry Bear: Revealing California grizzly diets from museum specimens. California Grizzly Research Group Blog.
Adams, A.J. 2018. Unnatural Disaster: A (Wild)fire-side Story. Guest blog for Millennium Alliance for Humanity and Biosphere.
Adams, A.J. 2016. Environmental Conference Cuts Travel Emissions, Fosters Communication. UCSB Daily Nexus. May 26, 2016.
Adams, A.J. 2016. UCSB Campus a Haven for Birdwatchers. UCSB Daily Nexus. May 12, 2016.
Adams, A.J. 2014. Banking on conservation: California tiger salamander recovery in Santa Barbara County. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Field Notes.
Teaching
Lecturer, Department of Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Barbara. April 2017 - June 2019. Undergraduate course taught: Endangered Species Management.
Graduate Student Instructor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California Santa Barbara. September 2011 - June 2016. Undergraduate courses taught: Non-infectious Disease; Ecology of Disease; Vertebrate Evolutionary Morphology; Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles; Principles of Evolution; Vertebrate Zoology.
Instructor, Amphibian Disease Workshop, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, México, November 2015.
Wilderness Orientation Instructor, Prescott College, Grand Canyon National Park and Superstition Wilderness, Arizona. January 2003.
Selected Presentations & Invited Lectures
2020. Addressing ecological uncertainties for frog reintroductions. International Virtual Herpetology Meeting. Mexican Herpetological Society, online. (Invited lecture)
2020. Assessing Reintroduction Feasibility for Foothill yellow-legged frogs in the Central Coast Region. The Wildlife Society Central Coast Chapter annual meeting, online. (Invited presentation)
2020. Recovering California’s Frogs: Mixed Methods Approaches for Applied Conservation Science. Rutgers University Graduate Program in Ecology and Evolution, online. (Invited seminar)
2020. To Treat or Not To Treat? Disease Considerations for a California red-legged Frog Conservation Introduction. California-Nevada Amphibian Populations Task Force meeting, San Diego, California. (Contributed presentation)
2019. Frog stories and bear bones: Unlocking the past to inform species’ futures. Ecological Society of America Meeting, Louisville, Kentucky (Contributed talk and organized session)
2019. Natural History as an Amphibian Decline Research Tool. Natural History Institute, Prescott, Arizona. (Invited lecture)
2019. Using Natural History Collections to Track a Fungal Pathogen of Amphibians Through Time. Natural History Collections Research Seminar, Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, Santa Barbara, California. (Invited lecture)
2018. Watering Hole: Restoring a Stock Pond for Sensitive Wildlife. Central Coast Chapter of The Wildlife Society Annual Meeting, San Luis Obispo, California. (Contributed presentation)
2017. Historical rise in fungal pathogen prevalence coincides with rapid southern California extirpation of Rana boylii. California-Nevada Amphibian Populations Task Force Meeting, Santa Barbara, California. (Contributed presentation)
2017. The role of disease in the disappearance of a southern California frog. University of California Sedgwick Reserve public lecture series, Santa Ynez, California. (Invited lecture)
2016. Examining the historical role of disease in the regional extirpation of a California anuran. Integrated Research Challenges in Environmental Biology, Amphibian Disease Annual Meeting, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. (Contributed presentation)
2016. Multiple factors predict fungal pathogen infection in a declining California frog. North American Congress for Conservation Biology, Madison, Wisconsin. (Contributed Presentation)
2015. Chytrid infection, drought, and flow regulation create multiple stressors on foothill yellow-legged frog populations in the Alameda Creek watershed. California-Nevada Amphibian Populations Task Force Annual Meeting, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California. (Contributed Presentation)
2014. Evaluating methods for detecting Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in formalin-preserved specimens using qPCR. Integrated Research Challenges in Environmental Biology, Amphibian Disease Annual Meeting, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. (Contributed Presentation)
2014. Amphibian declines in southern California. University of California Santa Barbara Wildlife in America Course. (Invited Lecture)
2014. Examining anuran declines in southern California’s Western Transverse Ranges: Did disease play a role? Southern California Academy of Sciences Annual Meeting, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, California (Contributed Presentation)
2013. Update on the Santa Barbara County Distinct Population Segment of the California tiger salamander. The Wildlife Society Central Coast Wildlife Roundtable and Career Symposium, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California. (Invited presentation)
2012, 2014, 2018, 2019. Endangered Species Management at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. University of California Santa Barbara Conservation Biology course. (Invited lecture)
2010. Management of non-native tiger salamanders at Lompoc Federal Penitentiary. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ventura Field Office, Ventura, California. (Invited presentation)
2003. Complexities in conservation: Northern spotted owls of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington. Prescott College Baccalaureate, Prescott, Arizona. (Invited lecture)
Professional Service
Member, Board of Directors, Fauna del Noroeste. 2023 - present
Member, Earth Research Institute Advisory Committee. 2023 - present
Science Advisor, Amphibian Ark. 2021 - present
Advisory Member, Baja California Red-legged Frog Recovery Team. 2020 - present
Peer Reviewer: Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, EcoHealth, Ecology and Evolution, Ecosphere, Herpetological Conservation and Biology, Journal of Animal Ecology, Northwestern Naturalist, PLoS ONE, Western North American Naturalist. 2015 - present
Founder and Team Lead, Foothill yellow-legged frog reintroduction working group. 2020 - 2022
Officer, Ecological Society of America, Natural History Section. 2018 - 2021
Working Group Member, Collaborative Conservation and Adaptation Strategy Toolbox (CCAST) Community of Practice for Non-native Aquatic Species. 2020 - 2021
Advisory Board Member, Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy, Ventura, California. 2017
Communications Officer, University of California Santa Barbara Women in Science & Engineering. 2015 - 2017
Voting Member, University of California Santa Barbara Ecology Evolution and Marine Biology Graduate Student Advisory Committee. 2010 - 2013
Bird Bander, Rouge River Bird Observatory, Dearborn, Michigan. 2006 –2007
Avian Surveyor, University of Michigan School of Natural Resources & Environment, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 2007
Bird Skin Preparer, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Bird Division, Ann Arbor, Michigan. 2006
Northern Spotted Owl Survey Volunteer, Olympic National Park. 2002 –2003
Selected Professional Training
Collaborative Decision-Making and Shared Leadership (2020)
Empathic Communication Skills and Practices (2020)
Structured Decision Making Overview: A Primer on Value-Focused Thinking (2019)
Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher (2019)
Union of Concerned Scientists Effective Public Science Communication Workshop (2017)
COMPASS Science and Policy Communications Training (2015)
Crucial Conversations (2012)