Elisa Cabrera-Guzman

Email:
Phone: 08 8984 9137
Fax: 08 8984 9139
Location: University of Sydney Tropical Ecology Research Facility, Middle Point Village, Northern Territory

General Interests

I am interested in several areas of biology, with Ecology, Herpetology and Animal Parasitology being those in which I have had the most experience. I did my Bachelors and my Masters studies in the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where I participated in different projects related to amphibian and reptile distribution, ecology and conservation. Later, I spent several years teaching different courses to students of Biological Sciences in Mexican Universities. I came to Australia to do my PhD on cane toads with Professor Rick Shine and Dr Michael Crossland as supervisors.

Current Research

My PhD research currently focuses on interactions between cane toads and various native animal species in the Northern Territory, Australia. The first part of my research is investigating competitive interactions between cane toad tadpoles and native frog tadpoles. I am studying coexistence in natural ponds and the outcome of interspecific competition. In particular, I want to know if native tadpoles affect the success of cane toad tadpoles. Another focus of my research is investigating predation on cane toads by different terrestrial and aquatic native species. I am testing predation on the different stages of the toads’ life cycle looking for species with potential in the biological control of this invasive anuran.

Past Research

For my Masters dissertation, I studied the structure of amphibian and reptile communities in tropical rain forest fragments at Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico. I focused on the effects of patch size, environment and vegetation on the richness, composition and abundance of amphibians and reptiles. I also studied effects of fragmentation on microhabitat use, population structure, and other aspects of the natural history of the amphibians and reptiles inhabiting rainforest patches.

In my Bachelors’ dissertation, I investigated the helminth parasite communities of the leopard frogs in Acapulco, Mexico. These frogs can be parasitized by larvae and adults of many species of nematodes, platyhelminths and occasionally anthocephalans. These parasites enter the frogs through the ingestion of infected prey, through direct penetration of the skin or transmission by mosquitoes. This diversity of mechanisms of infection allows us to get interesting information about the ecology (habitat, activity, diet, etc.) of the hosts.

Education

Scientific Meetings, Congresses and Symposia

Teaching Experience