Arianne F. Messerman, PhD

I grew up in Cleveland Heights, Ohio and became interested in biological research as an undergraduate student at Kenyon College. A semester abroad in the Galápagos Islands then changed my path forever. Learning about the many threats confronting endemic biodiversity sparked a new passion for environmental conservation.

 

I began a Master of Environmental Management program at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University in 2012. Adventures in Southern Appalachia, a biodiversity hotspot for salamanders, allowed me to realize my deep interest in herpetology. Learning about global amphibian declines then led me to collaborate with private, state, and federal agencies to conduct my master’s research on the use of artificial habitat to conserve the eastern hellbender salamander (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis) in North Carolina (Figure 1). After receiving my master's degree, I initiated an interdisciplinary collaboration with engineers at the University of Missouri (MU) to improve upon artificial hellbender habitat designs.

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I joined the lab of Dr. Ray Semlitsch in 2014, and thereafter the Lab of Dr. Manuel Leal, to earn a PhD in Biological Sciences at MU. I began investigating the biology of an understudied demographic known to influence many pond-breeding amphibian populations: elusive terrestrial juveniles (Figure 2). By better understanding juveniles, researchers and conservation practitioners can more accurately predict how amphibian populations are likely to respond to habitat change and management actions. I continued my research on the population dynamics and ecology of imperiled ambystomatids as a postdoc in the lab of Dr. Christopher Searcy at the University of Miami.

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I served as the Wetland Community Ecologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) from August 2022-August 2024. My role at MDC was to apply decision science, field-based research and monitoring, and simulation modeling to the management and conservation of the state's many wetland-dependent species. I then joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in August of 2024 as a Species Assessment Team Project Manager. In this position, I coordinated teams of biologists and used the best available science to conduct species status assessments, which serve as the basis for listing status decisions under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). This role familiarized me with Section 4 of the ESA and related federal regulations. I was also able to cultivate skills in team-building and writing for the Federal Register. Following large-scale federal layoffs in February 2025, I am now looking for the next adventure in my career.