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Karen Lips
Assistant Professor
Office: 355D Life Science II
Phone: 618-453-2806
email: klips@zoology.siu.edu

Education: Ph.D., University of Miami

Courses taught: Herpetology, Conservation Biology, Conservation of Natural Resources

Areas of interest: Tropical Biology, Conservation Biology, Herpetology

My research interests center on field ecology, population demography, and the evolution of life histories of anurans and reptiles. I am particularly interested in determining the spatiotemporal variation in diversity and abundance of amphibians and reptiles in various communities, studying comparative population demography of tropical stream frogs, and quantifying the role of adult and larval amphibians in tropical and temperate ecosystems. Most of my recent fieldwork involves studies of amphibian population declines, especially those of the Neotropics. Most of my research and that of my lab focuses on comparative ecology of these diverse tropical faunas with the goal of using these data to understand differential patterns of decline.

For more information on my research program, please see my lab webpage.

Recent Publications

Lips, K. R., J. Diffendorfer, J. Mendelson, and M. Sears. 2008. Riding the wave: Climate change, emerging infectious disease and amphibian declines. PLOSBiology 6(3): e72.

Whitfield, S. M., K. R. Lips, and M. A. Donnelly. 2008. Amphibian conservation and amphibian decline in Central America. In: Status of Conservation and Decline of Amphibians: Western Hemisphere H. Heatwole, C. Barrios-AmorÖs and J. Wilkinson (editors). Volume 8B in: Amphibian Biology, H. Heatwole (ed.), Surrey Beatty and Sons, Pty. Ltd., Sydney. Australia.

Ryan, M. J., K. R. Lips, M. W. Eichholz. 2008. Decline and extirpation of an endangered Panamanian stream frog population (Craugastor punctariolus) due to an outbreak of chytridiomycosis. Biological Conservation.

Connelly, S., R. J. Bixby. C.M Pringle, R. Brenes, M. R. Whiles, K. R. Lips, S. Kilham, and A. D. Huryn. (In revision). Changes in stream primary producer communities resulting from loss of tadpoles: can small-scale experiments predict effects of large-scale catastrophic amphibian declines? Ecosystems.

Regester, K.J., M. R. Whiles, and K. R. Lips. (In press). Variation in the trophic basis of production and energy flow associated with emergence of larval salamander assemblages (Ambystomatidae) from forest ponds. Freshwater Biology.

Colon-Gaud, C., S. Peterson, M. R. Whiles, S.S. Kilham, K. R. Lips, and C. M. Pringle. 2008. Allochthonous litter inputs, organic matter standing stocks, and organic seston dynamics in upland Panamanian streams: potential effects of larval amphibians on organic matter dynamics. Hydrobiologia 603: 301-312.

Savage, J. M., K. R. Lips, and R. I. Ib¸šez D. 2008. A new species of Celestus from west-central Panama, with consideration of the status of the genera of the Anguidae: Diploglossinae (Squamata). Revista de Biolog‰a Tropical.

Robertson, J. M., K. R. Lips, and E. Heist. 2008. Fine scale gene flow and individual movements among subpopulations of Centrolene prosoblepon (Anura: Centrolenidae). Revista de Biolog‰a Tropical 56(1): 13-26.

Verburg, P., S. S. Kilham, C. M. Pringle, K. R. Lips, and D. L. Drake. 2007. A pre-extirpation stable isotope study of an amphibian-dominated neotropical stream food web. Journal of Tropical Ecology 23(6): 643-651.

Ringia, A. and K. R. Lips. 2007. Field and lab studies of reproduction, growth and development in Eurycea lucifuga. Herpetologica 63(3):258-268.

Mendelson, J. R. III, K. R. Lips, J. E. Diffendorfer, et al. 2006. Responding to Amphibian Loss: Response. Science 314: 1541-42.

Mendelson, J. R. III, K. R. Lips, R. W. Gagliardo, et al. 2006. Confronting amphibian declines and extinctions. Science 313: 48.

Lips, K. R., F. Brem, R. Brenes, J. D. Reeve, R. A. Alford, J. Voyles, C. Carey, A. Pessier, L. Livo, J. P. Collins. 2006. Infectious disease and global biodiversity loss: pathogens and enigmatic amphibian extinctions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Scence 103(9): 3165-3170.

Whiles, M. R., K. R. Lips, C. Pringle, S.S. Kilham, R. Brenes, S. Connelly, J. C. Colon Guad, M. Hunte-Brown, A. D. Huryn, C. Montgomery, and S. Peterson. 2006. The consequences of amphibian population declines to the structure and function of neotropical stream ecosystems. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4: 27-34.

Woodhams, D., J. Voyles, K. Lips, C. Carey, L. Rollins-Smith. 2006. Predicted disease susceptibility in a Panamanian amphibian assemblage based on skin peptide defenses. Journal of Wildlife Disease 42(2): 207-218.

Regester, K. J., K. R. Lips, and M. R. Whiles. 2006. Larval production, emergence production, and oviposition by salamanders (Ambystomatidae) contribute to energy flow between habitats in a forest ecosystem of southern Illinois. Oecologia 147: 303-314.

Lips, K.R. P. A. Burrowes, J.R. Mendelson III, G.Parra-Olea. 2005. Amphibian Declines In Latin America: widespread declines, extinctions and impacts. Biotropica 37(2):163-165.

Lips, K.R. P. A. Burrowes, J.R. Mendelson III, G.Parra-Olea. 2005. Amphibian Population Declines in Latin America: a synthesis. Biotropica 37(2):222-226.

La Marca, E., K. R. Lips, S. Lžtters, R. Puschendorf, R. Ib¸šez, S. Ron, J. V. Rueda-Almonacid, R. Schulte, C. Marty, F. Castro, J. Manzanilla-Puppo, J. E. Garc‰a-Pňrez, M. R. Bustamante, L. A. Coloma, A. Merino-Viteri, E. Toral, F. Bolašos, G. Chaves, A. Pounds, B. Young. 2005. Catastrophic population declines and extinctions in Neotropical Harequin Frogs (Bufonidae: Atelopus). Biotropica 37(2):190-201.

Funk, W. C., M. A. Donnelly, and K. R. Lips. 2005. Alternative views of amphibian toe-clipping. Nature 433: 193.

Lips, K. R. 2005. Quantification of selection and male reproductive success in Hyla calypsa. Pp. 215-226 In Donnelly, M. A., B. I. Crother, C. Guyer, M. H. Wake, and M. E. White (eds.) Ecology and Evolution in the Tropics: a herpetological perspective. Univ. Chicago Press.

Lips, K. R. and M. A. Donnelly. 2005. What the Topics can tell us about Declining Amphibian Populations: Current Patterns and Future Prospects. Pp. 388-406 In Lannoo, M.J. (ed.), North American Amphibians: Status and Conservation. University of California Press. (Invited Book Chapter).

Savage, J. M., B. D. Hollingsworth , K. R. Lips, A. P. Jaslow. 2004. A new species of rainfrog (Genus Eleutherodactylus) from the Serran‰a de Tabasar¸, west-central Panama and reanalysis of the fitzingeri species group. Herpetologica 60(4): 119-129.

Ranvestel, T. W., K. R. Lips, C. M. Pringle, M. R. Whiles, R. J. Bixby. 2004. Neotropical tadpoles influence stream benthos: evidence for ecological consequences of amphibian declines. Freshwater Biology 49: 274-285.

Lips, K. R., J. R. Mendelson III, A. Mušoz Alonso, L. Canseco-Marquez, and D. G. Mulcahy. 2004. Direct evidence of declines in amphibian populations in montane southern Mexico. Biological Conservation 119: 555-564.