Alexander Shepack, PhD Jan 20, 2022

University of Notre Dame |  860-459-8650 |  ashepack@nd.edu

Current
Postdoctoral Researcher Jan 2021 - Present
· University of Notre Dame; Notre Dame, IN
· Department of Biological Sciences
· Adviser: Dr. Jason Rohr

EDUCATION
Florida International University, PhD Jan 2018 – Dec 2020
· Advisor: Dr. Alessandro Catenazzi
· Department of Biological Sciences
· Dissertation: “Recovery of Neotropical amphibian populations from Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis”
· Defense date: expected November 2020
Southern Illinois University, PhD candidate Aug 2014 – Dec 2017
· Advisor: Dr. Alessandro Catenazzi
· Department of Zoology
· Advanced to candidacy November 2016; transfer to FIU in January 2018 when Advisor moved to new position
Yale University, MESc Aug 2012 – May 2014
· Advisor: Dr. David Skelly
· School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
· Thesis: “Effects of urbanization on temporary pond breeding amphibians”
University of Connecticut, BS Aug 2008 – May 2012
· Advisor: Dr. Mark Urban
· Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
· Honors Thesis: “Oviposition site choice in Hyla versicolor”

GRANTS & AWARDS

Dissertation Year Fellowship 2020
FIU Tropics Travel Grant - $2350 2018
FIU Tropics Research Grant - $4000 2018
International Herpetological Society Conservation Grant - $1000 2017
Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles Graduate Student Grant - $1000 2017
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists Gaige Grant - $1000 2016
American Philosophical Society Lewis and Clark Fund - $4500 2016
The Explorers Club Exploration Fund – Mamont Scholars Program - $1500 2016
Herpetologist’s League E.E. Williams Grant - $1000 2016
American Museum of Natural History - Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund - $3120 2016
Illinois Wild Turkey Federation - $1500 2015
Sophie Danforth Conservation Grant - $1000 2015
Amphibian Survival Alliance Seed Grant - $925 2015
Chicago Herpetological Society Graduate Research Grant - $1000 2015
SIU Graduate and Professional Student Council - $200 2014
Sigma Xi Grant in Aid of Research - $500 2014
 Morris Doctoral Fellowship (SIU) - $117,000 2014

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Atelopus Survival Initiative 2019 – Present
Founding Member, In-Situ Working Group
BSal Task Force 2016 – Present
Technical Advisory Committee Member, Co-Lead Communications Working Group
Forman School Rainforest Project 2009 – Present
Instructor and Trip Leader
CREA Panama 2015 – Present
Research Coordinator, Instructor, Trip Leader

Sarapiqui Neighborhood Coalition 2019 - Present

Coordinator and Research Adviser

ZooMu Working Group: Zoo-Museum Collaborative Network 2020-Present

Organizer

Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History 2016 – 2021

Research Associate

Graduate Research Assistants Supporting Science -SIU 2015 – 2017

Director of School Outreach

Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History 2012 – 2014

Vertebrate Collections Assistant

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
Graduate Women in Science – Fellowship Reviewer June 2021
McNair Scholars Research Conference – Poster and Presentation Judge Oct 2018
E.E. Williams Research Grant - Proposal Reviewer 2017
Illinois Junior Academy of Science Region 8 Science Fair - Science Fair Judge March 2016

Invited Reviewer:
Journal of North American Herpetology, Hydrobiologia, Biotropica, Journal of Urban Ecology, PLoS One,
Herpetological Review, Conservation Genetics, Herpetological Conservation and Biology, EcoHealth, Diseases
of Aquatic Organisms, Ecosphere

PRESENTATIONS

Population recovery in a Bd enzootic community

Presentation – IRCEB Amphibian Diseases Meeting, ASU, Tempe, AZ November 2019

Demography and transmission in Chytrid enzootic amphibian populations

Poster – The Wildlife Society / American Fisheries Society Joint Meeting, Reno, NE September 2019

Demography and viability of amphibian populations recovering from chytridiomycosis related declines
Presentation – Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Snowbird, UT July 2019

Multi-species recovery in a Bd enzootic habitat

Presentation – Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Rochester, NY July 2018

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 Declinacion y recuperacion de anfibios en Centroamerica
Presentation – Universidad Autonoma de Chiriqui, David, Panama April 2018

Superbad: Superspreaders and reservoirs of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in an enzootic community

Presentation – IRCEB Amphibian Diseases Meeting, ASU, Tempe, AZ November 2017

Surveys for Bsal and Bd in mountainous regions of North and South American and Europe
Presentation – IRCEB Amphibian Diseases Meeting, ASU, Tempe, AZ November 2016

Back from the brink: Bd prevalence in rebounding and remnant amphibian populations
Presentation – Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, New Orleans, LA July 2016

Back from the brink: Peruvian toads rebounding in a pathogen rich environment
Presentation – IRCEB Amphibian Diseases Meeting, ASU, Tempe, AZ November 2015

Country frogs in the big city: Urbanization and its effect on the abundance and distribution of Wood
Frogs (Rana sylvatica)
Poster – International Urban Wildlife Conference, Chicago, IL May 2015

PUBLICATIONS

Zumbado-Ulate, Héctor, Catherine L. Searle, Gerardo Chaves, Víctor Acosta-Chaves, Alex Shepack, Stanley Salazar,
and Adrián García-Rodríguez. (2021) Assessing Suitable Habitats for Treefrog Species after Previous Declines in
Costa Rica. Diversity. 13 (11): 577.

Chaves-Acuña, Wagner, Gerardo Chaves, Jeremy Klank, Erick Arias, Federico Bolaños, Alexander Shepack, Twan
Leenders, John Cossel, Julián Faivovich. (2020) Recent findings of Isthmohyla pictipes (Anura: Hylidae) in
Costa Rica: Variation and implications for conservation. Zootaxa. 4881 (3) 499-514

Shepack, Alexander, Alessandro Catenazzi. (2020) Transcriptomics reveal immune downregulation of newts
overwhelmed by chytrid co-infection. Molecular Ecology. 29 (17) 3167-3169

LaBumbard, Brandon, Alexander Shepack, Alessandro Catenazzi. (2020) After the epizootic: host-pathogen
dynamics in montane tropical amphibian communities with high prevalence of chytridiomycosis. Biotropica.
52 (6): 1194-1205

Rubio, Andrew O., Sarah J. Kupferberg, Victor Vargas García, Alex Ttito, Alexander Shepack, and Alessandro
Catenazzi. (2018) Widespread occurrence of the antifungal cutaneous bacterium Janthinobacterium lividum on
Andean water frogs threatened by fungal disease. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 131(3): 233–238.

Adams, Michael J., Reid N. Harris, Evan HC Grant, Matthew J. Gray, M. Camille Hopkins, Samuel A. Iverson, Robert
Likens, Mark Mandica, Deanna H. Olson, Alexander Shepack, Hardin Waddle. (2018) Prepublication
Communication of Research Results. EcoHealth 15: 478-481(3).

Yap, Tiffany, Natalie Nguyen, Megan Serr, Alexander Shepack, Vance T. Vredenburg (2017). Batrachochytrium
dendrobatidis and the risk of a second amphibian pandemic. EcoHealth 14(4): 851–864.

Catenazzi, Alessandro, Alex Ttito, M. Isabel Diaz, Alexander Shepack. (2017), Bryophryne
phuyuhampatu (Amphibia, Anura, Craugastoridae), a new species of Cusco Andes frog from the cloud forest of
the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes. ZooKeys 685: 65–81.

Parrott, Josh C., Alexander Shepack, David Burkart, Brandon LaBumbard, Patrick Scimè, Ethan Baruch, &
Alessandro Catenazzi (2017). Survey of pathogenic chytrid fungi (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis and B.
salamandrivorans) in salamanders from three mountain ranges in Europe and the Americas. EcoHealth 14, 1–7.

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Shepack, Alexander, Rudolf von May, Alex Ttito, and Alessandro Catenazzi. (2016) A new species of Pristimantis
(Amphibia, Anura, Craugastoridae) from the foothills of the Andes in Manu National Park, southeastern Peru.
ZooKeys (594): 143–164.

Shepack, Alexander, L. Kealoha Friedenburg and David K. Skelly. (2016) Species loss in developed landscapes: an
experimental evaluation. Landscape Ecology 32(3): 609–615.

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