Prospective Students

Corinne Richards-Zawacki

  • Professor and PLE Director
  • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Contact

cori.zawacki@pitt.edu
Office: (412) 624-0447
Lab: (412) 624-0446
105A Clapp Hall
4249 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
View Website ›

My research lies at the intersection of ecology and evolutionary biology, in that I approach questions about how changes in climate and habitat shape organisms and communities in a way that considers their evolutionary implications. My work integrates studies of molecular, morphological, ecological, and behavioral variation, and I focus mainly on amphibians because their diversity provides an exciting backdrop for exploring the interplay between ecology and evolution across a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. The questions I ask address:

  1. How climate and host/pathogen evolution shape the dynamics of wildlife diseases
  2. The effects of changes in climate on species distributions and diversity
  3. How reproductive isolation evolves during speciation
  4. The natural history and conservation of endangered amphibians.

Yang, Y., M. R. Servedio and C

Yang, Y., M. R. Servedio and C. L. Richards-Zawacki (2019) Imprinting sets the stage for speciation. Nature. 574(7776): 99-102

Brannelly, L. A., M. E. B. Ohmer, V. Saenz, C.

Brannelly, L. A., M. E. B. Ohmer, V. Saenz, C. L. Richards-Zawacki (2019) Effects of a shortened hydroperiod on larval development and post-metamorphic immune defenses in a temperate amphibian. Functional Ecology 33: 1952-1961.

Robak, M. J., L. K. R

Robak, M. J., L. K. Reinert, L. A. Rollins-Smith, C. L. Richards-Zawacki (2019) Out in the cold and sick: Low temperatures and fungal infections impair a frog’s skin defenses. Journal of Experimental Biology 222: jeb.209445.

Voyles, J., D. C. Woo

Voyles, J., D. C. Woodhams, V. Saenz, A. Q. Byrne, R. Perez, G. Rios-Sotelo, M. J. Ryan, M. C. Bletz, F. A. Sobell, S. McLetchie, L. Reinert, E. B. Rosenblum, L. A. Rollins-Smith, R. Ibanez, J. M. Ray, E. J. Griffith, H. Ross, C. L. Richards-Zawacki (2018) Amphibian recoveries and shifts in disease dynamics are not due to pathogen attenuation. Science 359: 1517-1519.
Dr. Richards-Zawacki received her PhD with L. Lacey Knowles in 2007 from the University of Michigan, performed her post-doctoral research at the Smithsonian Institute and UC Berkeley,, held a position as Assistant Professor at Tulane University, and joined the department in 2015.