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Research Interests
Dr. Storfer uses a combination of molecular genetic tools, laboratory experiments and field experiments to investigate species’ range limits. Biodiversity research in general requires a two-pronged approach - studying the factors that contribute to patterns of diversity and those that constrain species’ ranges. The latter is particularly important as an increasing number of the world’s fauna become threatened or endangered. Amphibians are a group of taxa generally thought to be declining globally, and thus, human activities may further constrict species’ ranges.
Dr. Storfer's lab currently has two focal research areas. The first is on phylogeography, landscape genetics, and life history dynamics of amphibians in the Pacific Northwest. The Pacific Northwestern amphibians offer unique opportunities to compare species with highly restricted ranges with those that have much broader ranges. The second research emphasis is on effects of diseases on amphibian populations. Dr. Storfer is working to understand coevolutionary relationships of salamanders and viruses. Hosts and pathogens provide ever-changing environments for one another, creating a dynamic pattern of reciprocal selection that drives the coevolutionary process. Aside from humans and economically important species, little is known about how disease affects wildlife populations, but with emerging infectious diseases affecting both wildlife and humans, understanding the evolutionary dynamics of wildlife diseases is becoming increasingly important.
Representative Publications
Stewart, J.D., A. Storfer, R.B. Page, C.K. Beachy and S.R. Voss. 2008, in press. Transcriptional response of Mexican axolotls to Ambystoma tigrinum virus (ATV) infection. BMC Genomics.
Spear, S.F. and A. Storfer. 2008, in press. Landscape genetic structure of tailed frogs in protected versus managed forests. Molecular Ecology.
Murphy, M. A., J.S. Evans, S. Cushman and A. Storfer. 2008, in press. Representing genetic variation as continuous surfaces: An approach for identifying spatial dependency in landscape genetic studies. Ecography.
Ridenhour, B. J. and A. Storfer. 2008. Geographically variable selection in Ambystoma tigrinum Virus (Iridoviridae) throughout the Western United States. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 21:1151-1159.
Storfer, A., M. E. Alfaro, B. J. Ridenhour, J. K. Jancovich, S. G. Mech† , M. J. Parris and J. P. Collins., 2007. Phylogenetic concordance analysis shows an emerging pathogen is novel and endemic. Ecology Letters. 10:1075-1083.
Steele, C. A. and A. Storfer. 2007. Phylogeographic incongruence of codistributed amphibian species based on small differences in geographic distribution. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 43:468-479.
Giordano, A. R., B. J. Ridenhour and A. Storfer 2007. The influence of altitude and topography on genetic structure in the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum). Molecular Ecology. 16:1625-1637.
Storfer, A., M. A. Murphy, J. S. Evans, C. S. Goldberg, S. Robinson, S. F. Spear, R. Dezzani, E. Demelle, L. Vierling, and L. P. Waits. 2007. Putting the “landscape” in landscape genetics. Heredity 98:128-142.
Forson, D. D. and A. Storfer 2006. Atrazine increases ranavirus susceptibility in the tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum. Ecological Applications 16: 2325-2332.
Steele, C. A. and A. Storfer. 2006. Coalescent-based hypothesis testing supports multiple Pleistocene refugia in the Pacific Northwest for the Pacific Giant Salamander (Dicamptodon tenebrosus). Molecular Ecology 15:2477-2487.
Forson, D. and A. Storfer. 2006. Effects of atrazine and iridovirus infection on survival and life history characteristics in long-toed salamanders, Ambystoma macrodactylum. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 25:168-173.
Spear, S. F.., C. R. Peterson, M. Matocq and A. Storfer. 2005. Landscape genetics of the blotched tiger salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum melanostictum. Molecular Ecology 14: 2553-2564.
Steele, C. A, B. C. Carstens, A. Storfer and J. Sullivan. 2005. Testing hypotheses of speciation timing in Dicamptodon copei and Dicamptodon aterrimus (Caudata: Dicamptodontidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36:90-100.
Jancovich, J. K., E. W. Davidson, N. Parameswaran, J. Mao, V. G. Chinchar, J. P. Collins, B. L. Jacobs and A. Storfer 2005. Evidence for emergence of an amphibian disease because of human-enhanced spread. Molecular Ecology 14:213-224.
Dybdahl, M. and A. Storfer. 2003. Parasite local adaptation: Red Queen versus Suicide King. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 523-530.
Collins, J. P. and A. Storfer. 2003. Amphibian declines: Sorting the hypotheses. Diversity and Distributions 9: 89-98.
Storfer, A.*, J. Cross, V. Rush, and J. Caruso. 1999. Adaptive coloration and gene flow as a constraint to local adaptation in the streamside salamander, Ambystoma barbouri. Evolution 53(3): 889-898.
Storfer, A.* 1999. Gene flow and endangered species translocations: A topic revisited. Biological Conservation 87: 173-180.
Storfer, A.* and A. Sih. 1998. Gene flow and ineffective antipredator behavior in a stream-breeding salamander. Evolution 52(2): 558-565.
Storfer, A.* 1996. Quantitative genetics: A promising approach for the assessment of genetic variation in endangered species. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 11(8): 343-348.