people - faculty - Maerz

John C. Maerz
Research Associate

28 Bruckner Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853
Ph: 607-254-6474
Fx: 607-255-0349
e.mail: jcm63@cornell.edu
website
John C. Maerz

Ph.D - SUNY Binghamton - 2000
B.S. - University of Maryland - 1992

John Maerz joined the Department of Natural Resources in 2000. He conducts research on how invasive plant and invertebrate species affect salamander and frog populations. Invasions by nonnative species can have large effects food webs, including the quality or abundance of prey available for amphibians. Because amphibians are the most abundant vertebrates in many ecosystems, changes in the behavior or abundance of amphibians might have significant effects on community dynamics and ecosystem functions.

Research

His current research examines (i) the impact of nonnative plant invasions on woodland salamander fitness and abundance, (ii) the foraging ecology of terrestrial salamanders: the importance of nonnative prey, and (iii) the effects of Japanese knotweed invasions on the pre-migratory foraging of green frogs.

Selected Publications

  • Maerz, J. C., J. K. Karuzas, and D. M. Madison. The importance of nonnative species in woodland salamander diets and their role in food level differences between different types of forests. Forest Ecology and Management: in review.

  • Madison, D. M., A. M. Sullivan, J. C. Maerz, J. R. Rohr, and J. D. McDarby. 2002. A multiple-component, cross-taxon chemical release of anti-predator behavior in amphibians. Journal of Chemical Ecology: in press.

  • Lamoureux, V. S., J. C. Maerz, and D. M. Madison. 2002. Pre-Migratory Autumn Foraging Forays in the Green Frog, Rana clamitans. Journal of Herpetology 36:245-254.

  • Sullivan, A. M., J. C. Maerz, and D. M. Madison. 2002. Antipredator response of salamanders to chemical cues from snakes: field and laboratory comparisons. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 51:227-233.

  • Maerz, J. C., N. L. Panebianco, and D. M. Madison. 2001. The effects of chemical alarm cues and behavioral biorhythms on the foraging activity of terrestrial salamanders. Journal of Chemical Ecology 27:1333-1344.

  • Maerz, J. C. and D. M. Madison. 2000. Environmental variation and territorial behavior in a terrestrial salamander. In: Bruce, R.C., Jaeger, R.G., and L.D. Houck (eds.) The Biology of Plethodontid Salamanders, Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishing, New York, NY, pp. 395-406.