Research interests
My research focuses on evaluating the effects of environmental stressors on amphibian behavior and physiology. More specifically, I am interested in ecotoxicology, disease ecology, amphibian physiology, and amphibian resilience. I am experienced in R and utilize Bayesian methods for data analysis.
Other areas of interest include snake fungal disease, reptile immunology and physiology, the gender gaps in STEM and academia, and conservation biology (amphibians, reptiles, and broadly across all areas of life).
Ongoing research projects as a postdoctoral researcher:
- Validating ELISA for sex determination of common amphibian species in the pet trade.
- Pathogen surveillance of the international amphibian pet trade.
- Evaluating the impacts of habitat complexity on pathogen susceptibility in common amphibian pet species.
- Assessing the toxicity of a plant-derived fungicide that reduces Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans infection burdens and increases survival.
- Evaluating the influence of common environmental contaminants on Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans growth in vitro.
- Strategies for improving the sustainability of the herpetological trade.
- Production of education and outreach materials for pet owners and industry professionals regarding pathogens and best practices in the amphibian pet trade.
- Investigating the mechanism of action of curcumin against chytrid zoospores
The chapters of my dissertation included:
- Monitoring ranavirus prevalence in South Dakota amphibian communities
- Evaluating the ability of larval American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana) to function as ranavirus reservoirs over the winter
- Evaluating the effects of ranavirus and anchorworm coinfection on survival and growth in larval American bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana)
- Investigating tradeoffs between amphibian development, immune defenses, and toxin management
Publications:
- Galvin DJ, Anderson SC, Marolf CJ, Schneider NA, Liebl AL. Comparative analysis of gender disparity in academic positions based on US region and STEM discipline. PLoS ONE 19(3): e0298736. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298736.
- Funk AT, Keoho C, Carter ED, Cusaac PJW, Sheley WC, Tompros A, Galvin DJ, Brown LP, Campagna SR, Castro HF, Fordyce JA, Miller DL, Gray MJ. Impacts of Sedimentation and Atrazine Exposure on Behaviour and Physiology of Larvae Could Drive Demographic Changes and Population Declines in a Giant Salamander. Freshwater Biology 70.6: e70067. https://doi.org/10.1111/fwb.70067
- McAlister JS, Brunner JL, Galvin DJ, Fefferman NH. A game theoretic treatment of contagion in trade networks. PLoS Comput Biol 21(12): e1013845. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013845
Publications in review:
- Kase A, Weigel V, Galvin DJ, Kerby JL, Magle SB. An invasive bivalve serves as food resource for a threatened turtle species. Freshwater Biology. In review.
Publications in prep:
- Galvin DJ, Miller DL, Gray MJ. Habitat complexity affects progression of Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans infections in Eastern newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) and Cuban treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis). In prep.
- Galvin DJ, Miller DL, Gray MJ. Comparing infection dynamics between ranavirus and Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis based on habitat complexity for dyeing poison dart frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) and yellow-bellied toads (Bombina variegata). In prep.
- Galvin DJ, Carter ED, Merolle C, Linney K, Miller DL, Gray MJ. Evaluating the efficacy and safety of curcumin as a treatment for Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans infections in Eastern newts (Notophthalmus viridescens). In prep.
- Galvin DJ, Russell RA, Haynes KL, Ramos JH, Gray MJ. Validating ELISA-based methods for sex determination in common pet amphibian species. In prep.
- Vonhoff DJ and Galvin DJ. Parental care and microbiome transmission in amphibians: assessing the current state of knowledge on microbiome and disease research and the potential role of parental care in the vertical transmission of microbiome in amphibians. In prep.
Stay tuned for updates on upcoming publications!
