Ursina Tobler
Table of contents
Research interests
Infectious diseases of wildlife have complex interactions with host physiology, genetics, population dynamics, behaviour, but also community ecology and climate. This interdisciplinary aspect, combined with the relevance of newly emerging diseases for species conservation, is the reason why my main interest in biology lies in the field of disease ecology.
More specifically, I try to understand how a fungal amphibian disease, chytridiomycosis, caused by the pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), affects and shapes the Swiss populations of the endangered midwife toad, Alytes obstetricans. My research questions are:
- what are the effects of infection with Bd on individual midwife toads?
- does the presence of Bd negatively affect midwife toad abundance and persistence?
- does Bd affect genetic composition of midwife toad populations?
- what environmental factors determine Bd prevalence among midwife toad tadpoles?
CV
Education and professional positions
| 2006 - 2011 | Ph.D. at Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2003 - 2005 | M.Sc. at the Zoological Institute, Department of Ecology, University of Zurich, Switzerland |
| 2000 - 2003 | Studies in Biology at the University of Zurich, Switzerland |
Selected publications
- Tobler U., Schmidt BR. (2010). Within- and among-population variation in chytridiomycosis-induced mortality in the toad Alytes obstetricans. PLoS ONE. 5(6): e10927. DOI: 10.
- Tobler U., Schmidt BR., Geiger CC. (2010). Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis: ein Chytridpilz, der zum weltweiten Amphibiensterben beiträgt. Schweizerische Zeitschrift für Pilzkunde 88(3): 112-116. DOI: 10.
- Schmidt BR., Tobler U., Ramseier P. (2010). Die Verbreitung der Geburtshelferkröte (Alytes obstetricans) im Kanton Basel-Landschaft (NW-Schweiz). Mitteilungen der Naturforschenden Gesellschaften beider Basel 12: 75-84. DOI: 10.
- Schmidt BR., Furrer S., Kwet A., Lötters S., Rödder D., Sztatecsny M., Tobler U., Zumbach S. (2009). Desinfektion als Massnahme gegen die Verbreitung der Chytridiomykose bei Amphibien. In: Hachtel, M., Schlüpmann, M., Thiesmeier, B. and Weddeling, K. (eds.) Methoden der Feldherpetologie. Laurenti Verlag, Bielefeld, pp. 229–241. DOI: 10.
