Herpetology

For the past 26 years Philip Rosen has worked to understand the ecology and conservation biology of amphibians and reptiles in southwestern North America. This work has spanned a range of topics, including species and community ecology of desert reptiles, conservation biology and management of fish and aquatic herps, and urban ecocolgy with proactive citizen conservation. For many years, the foci of his efforts have been in Arizona; now he is active in adjoining states, including bi-national work in Sonora, Mexico. He also has a long-standing interest in phylogeography, evolutionary ecology, and the synthesis of biological reasoning with social, political, and historical sciences. In addition to these research and intellectual pursuits, he has been recognized for his active contribution to agency, NGO, and citizen efforts in biodiversity conservation.

My research focuses on the ecology, evolution and conservation of animal species with a focus on amphibians and reptiles. Most of my research uses molecular tools. Several of my research projects are in collaboration with Melanie Culver, Adrian Quijada-Mascareñas, and Philip Rosen.

In the past I have worked on evolutionary physiology in lizards. Currently I am studying canyon treefrog (Hyla arenicolor) phylogeography, life history, and disease ecology. Other projects include field research on gila monsters (Heloderma suspectum), otoacoustic emissions in vertebrate ears, rattlesnake ecology, etc. I have also been involved in several local inventory and monitoring programs that shed light on changes in local abundance and distribution.