Biography
After earning his B.S. in Biology, Dr. Becker earned his M.S. from James Madison University and his Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, where he completed research in amphibian conservation and microbial ecology. Dr. Becker continued this line of research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, where he conducted studies to further conservation efforts for the critically endangered Panamanian Golden Frog.
Courses Taught
- BIOL 303 – Microbiology
- BIOL 400 – Biology Seminar
- BIOL 410 – Environmental Biology
Research Interests
The impact of emerging infectious diseases on Virginia salamander populations.
In recent decades, amphibians have experienced unprecedented population declines, leading to many species extinctions worldwide. A large number of these declines and extinctions are occurring in protected areas, such as national parks, and are due to two amphibian diseases: chytridiomycosis and ranaviral disease. The impact of these two diseases in the southeastern United States is unknown and is hard to measure without long-term studies of infected populations.
Therefore, a main goal of the Becker lab is to set up long-term monitoring sites of local salamander populations and measure the impact of disease on population dynamics over time. Study species for this project include the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) and the Peaks of Otter salamander (Plethodon hubrichti), an endemic species with a very limited distribution along the Blue Ridge Mountains.
The microbiome of the Peaks of Otter Salamander
Animals are host to a diverse community of symbiotic microorganisms. We are currently discovering the significance of microbes to the health and normal function of the hosts they inhabit. In particular, some amphibian species host a wide array of bacteria on their skin that secrete compounds to prevent colonization of infectious pathogens such as the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which is responsible for the disease chytridiomycosis.
Recent studies have shown that some of these beneficial bacteria can be used as probiotics to prevent chytridiomycosis in highly susceptible amphibian species. In an effort to understand the ecology of amphibian cutaneous microbial communities and further conservation strategies with the use of probiotics, the Becker lab uses microbiological and molecular techniques to investigate how these microbes interact with each other, their host, and B. dendrobatidis. Study species for this project will include several local salamander species, including the Peaks of Otter salamander (Plethodon hubrichti).
Publications