Dr. Robert Puschendorf

Dr. Rob Puschendorf undertook much of his work on Project 3.3 while an ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at James Cook University. He is currently a Lecturer in Animal Physiology and Health at Plymouth University, UK. 

Dr. Puschendorf has always been interested in ecology, evolution and conservation of tropical systems threatened by disease and climate change. Most of his work has focused on enigmatic amphibian declines and the disease known as chytridiomycosis (amphibian chytrid fungus disease), which has been linked to these declines. Originally from Costa Rica, he initially focused on patterns of infection across systems in the Neotropics, which evolved into environmental effects on the host-pathogen interaction between amphibians and the fungus. His current research focuses on environmental refuges from disease driven extinctions, identifying and understanding the mechanisms that allow hosts and pathogens to coexist.