Rudolf von May, Ph.D.
Associate Professor | Biology Program
California State University Channel Islands
Welcome! I am an Associate Professor of Biology at Cal State Channel Islands. I am broadly interested in ecology, evolution, and conservation of biodiversity. My research focuses on ecology and systematics of amphibians and reptiles, with a main emphasis in the Andes-Amazon region. I am especially interested in understanding the links between species’ distributions and their thermal ecology, morphology, and evolutionary history. Some of my recent projects and collaborations also focus on other organisms and ecosystems in California and provide hands-on research opportunities for undergraduate students. Email: rudolf.vonmay at csuci.edu
Google Scholar | ResearchGate | Field Research Videos
Featured publications
von May R, Diaz MI, Ttito A, Santa-Cruz R, Catenazzi A (2024) The rediscovery of Noblella peruviana after more than 115 years helps resolve the molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of Noblella (Amphibia, Anura, Strabomantidae). Diversity 16: 613
Luedtke JA, Chanson J, Neam K, Hobin L, Maciel AO, Catenazzi A, […], von May R, et al. (2023) Ongoing declines for the world’s amphibians in the face of emerging threats. Nature 622: 308-314 [Media coverage: Washington Post | ABC News | NBC News | NPR | Reuters | Smithsonian Magazine | USA Today | KCLU – NPR ]
Lötters S, Plewnia A, Catenazzi A, Neam K, […], von May R, Webster Bernal JF, La Marca E (2023) Ongoing harlequin toad declines suggest the amphibian extinction crisis is still an emergency. Communications Earth & Environment 4: 412
Pitman NCA, Vriesendorp CF, Alvira Reyes D, Moskovits DK, […], von May R, et al. (2021) Applied science facilitates the large-scale expansion of protected areas in an Amazonian hotspot. Science Advances 7(31): eabe2998 [Media Coverage: Mongabay | Channel Magazine ]
von May R, Catenazzi A, Santa-Cruz R, Gutierrez A, Moritz C, Rabosky DL (2019) Thermal physiological traits in tropical lowland amphibians: vulnerability to climate warming and cooling. PLOS ONE 14(8): e0219759 [Media coverage: UVM Field Herpetology | El Comercio ]
von May R, Biggi E, Cárdenas H, Diaz MI, Alarcón C, Herrera V, Santa-Cruz R, Tomasinelli F, Westeen E, Sánchez-Paredes CM, Larson JG, Title PO, Grundler MR, Grundler MC, Davis Rabosky AR, Rabosky DL (2019) Ecological interactions between arthropods and small vertebrates in a lowland Amazon rainforest. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(1): 65–77 [Media coverage: CBS News | CNN | HuffPost | National Geographic]
von May R, Lehr E, Rabosky, DL (2018) Evolutionary radiation of earless frogs in the Andes: molecular phylogenetics and habitat shifts in high-elevation terrestrial breeding frogs. PeerJ 6:e4331
von May R, Catenazzi A, Santa-Cruz R, Kosch TA, Vredenburg VT (2018) Microhabitat temperatures and prevalence of the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in lowland Amazonian frogs. Tropical Conservation Science 11: 1–13
Jacobs JM, von May R, Kavanaugh DH, Connor EF (2018) Beetles in bamboo forests: community structure in a heterogeneous landscape of southwestern Amazonia. PeerJ 6:e5153
von May R, Catenazzi A, Corl A, Santa-Cruz R, Carnaval AC, Moritz C (2017) Divergence of thermal physiological traits in terrestrial breeding frogs along a tropical elevational gradient. Ecology and Evolution 7: 3257–67 [Media coverage: Michigan News, Science Daily, National Science Foundation]
