
Latest News
2022
Paper - Crawfish Frog Population Dynamics - Animal Conservation - Cover Photo!
Paper - Fire Ant Predation on Snakes - Herpetologica - Swartwout and Willson
Paper - Herp Communities in LA Working Forests - JWM - Royal et al.
Paper - Crawfish Frog Occupancy - Ichthyology & Herpetology - Kross and Willson
2021
Paper - Stream salamander growth in working forests - Ecology & Evolution - Guzy et al.
Paper - Stream salamander survival and movement in working forests - Ecosphere
UArk Herepetology iNaturalist citizen science project featured in UArk Newswire
Meredith Swartwout successfully defends her dissertation on ant-reptile interactions - Congrats Meredith!
Elliot Lassiter joins the lab to pursue an MS on spatial ecology of Crawfish Frogs - Welcome Elliot!
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Paper - Context-dependent effects of Fescue on Crawfish Frog larval development - Oecologia! Congrats Chelsea!
Savannah Morning News - Natural Georgia article on DoD Snake Research
Paper - Riparian Herp Communities in Managed Forests - Eco Apps! Great paper Jackie!
Paper - Road-based Density Estimation - Wildlife Research. Cover Photo!
J.D. Awarded the Conservation Hero Award by Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC)!
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Research in our lab at the University of Arkansas focuses on understanding factors that drive population and community dynamics of reptiles and amphibians including inter- and intraspecific interactions, environmental variation, and anthropogenic impacts such as land-use change, pollution, and invasive species. Our work uses a combination of descriptive, experimental, and theoretical approaches to integrate responses from the level of the individual organism to the landscape. We are also interested in basic aspects of reptiles and amphibian ecology that set them apart from other vertebrates.
Current research areas in the Willson Lab include:
1) Evaluating population and landscape-scale effects of anthropogenic stressors (pollution, land-use change, intensive forestry, invasive species) on amphibians and reptiles.
2) Understanding the ecology, impacts, and management of Burmese pythons and other invasive snakes.
3) Assessing biotic and abiotic drivers of aquatic snake population and community dynamics within wetland ecosystems.
4) Development of novel field and analytical methods to understand reptile and amphibian distribution and abundance.
Please contact Dr. Willson if you are interested in research or graduate student opportunities.

Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolatus)