top of page

Jason R. Rohr

 

Dr. Rohr is an associate professor in USF’s Integrative Biology Department. He uses a transdisciplinary approach to evaluate how natural and anthropogenic stressors affect wildlife populations, species interactions, and the spread of disease. He is using genomic studies to assess how biodiversity, synthetic chemicals, and host immune responses mediate infectious disease risk. His lab has used 16S-sequencing to determine how exposure to pesticides and antibiotics disrupt the biodiversity of host microbiomes and is now focusing on transcriptomic approaches and functional immune assays to determine how the microbiome will affect pathogen defense.

​

 

 

 

Disease-related Publications by Year

(§undergraduate student, *graduate student, †postdoc, ¥denotes equal first authorship)


for a full list of Rohr’s publications see: http://shell.cas.usf.edu/rohrlab/rohrpublications.html

 

In press

Rohr, J.R., Brown J.*, Battaglin, W.A., McMahon, T.A., Relyea, R.A. in press. A pesticide paradox: Fungicides indirectly increase fungal infections. Ecological Applications

Johnson, L.R., Gramacy, R.B., Cohen, J.M.*, Mordecai, E.A., Murdock, C.C., Rohr, J.R., Ryan, S.J., Stewart-Ibarra, A., Weikel, D. in press. Phenomenological forecasting of disease incidence using heteroskedastic Gaussian processes: a dengue case study. Annals of Applied Statistics

Knutie, S.A.†, Wilkinson, C.L.*, Kohl, K.D.†, Rohr, J.R. in press. Early-life disruption of amphibian microbiota decreases later-life resistance to parasites. Nature Communications

Rohr, J.R. in press. Atrazine and amphibians: A story of profits, controversy and animus. Encyclopedia of the Anthropocene

Knutie, S.A.†, Shea, L.A.§, Kupselaitis, M.§, Wilkinson, C.L.*, Kohl, K.D.†, Rohr, J.R. in press. Early-life diet affects host microbiota and later-life defenses against parasites in frogs. Integrative and Comparative Biology https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icx028

 

2017

Voyles, J., Johnson, L.R., Rochelle, K., Barron, C., Miller, D., Minster, J., Rohr. J.R., Rosenblum, E.B. 2017. Diversity in growth patterns among strains of the lethal fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis across extended thermal optima. Oecologia 184: 363-373.

McMahon, T.A., Rohr, J.R., Bernal, X. 2017. Light and noise pollution interact to disrupt interspecific interactions. Ecology 98: 1290–1299

Mordecai, E.A., Cohen, J.M.* Evans, M., Gudapati, P., Johnson, L.R., Miazgowicz, K., Murdock, C.C., Rohr, J.R., Ryan, S.J., Savage, V., Shocket, M.†, Stewart-Ibarra, A., Matthew, M.B., Weikel, D.P. 2017. Temperature characterizes Zika, dengue and chikungunya transmission potential in the Americas. PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 11(4): e0005568. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005568

Knutie, S.A.†, Wilkinson, C.L.*, Ortega, N.*, Rohr, J.R. 2017. Host resistance and tolerance of parasitic gut worms depend on resource availability. Oecologia 183: 1031-1040

Cohen, J.M.*, Venesky, M.D.†, Sauer, E.L.*, Civitello, D.J.†, McMahon, T.A.†, Roznik, E.A.†, Rohr, J.R. 2017. The thermal mismatch hypothesis explains outbreaks of an emerging infectious disease. Ecology Letters 20: 184–193

 

2016

Taylor, R.A.†, Mordecai, E., Rohr, J.R., Johnson, L.R. 2016. Mathematical models are a powerful method to understand and control the spread of Huanglongbing. PeerJ 4: e2642

Young, S.*, Nayak, B.†, Sun, S., Badgely, B.†, Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2016. Vancomycin resistant enterococci and changes in bacterial community structure associated with a residential sewage spill. Applied & Environmental Microbiology 82: 5653-5660

Cohen, J.*, Civitello, D.J.†, Brace, A.J.*, Feichtinger, E*, Ortega, N.*, Richardson, J.C.*, Sauer, E.L.*, Liu, X., Rohr, J.R. 2016. Spatial scale modulates the strength of ecological processes driving disease distributions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113: E3359–E3364 doi:10.1073/pnas.1521657113

Jayawardena, U.A., Rohr, J.R.¥, Navaratne, A.N., Amerasinghe, P.H., Rajakaruna, R.S. 2016. Combined effects of pesticides and trematode infections on the hourglass tree frog Polypedates cruciger. EcoHealth 13: 111-122

Buck, J.C.*, Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2016. Effects of nutrient supplementation on host-pathogen dynamics of the amphibian chytrid fungus: a community approach. Freshwater Biology 61:110-120

 

2015

Staley, Z.R.*, Harwood, V.J., Rohr, J.R. 2015. A synthesis of the effects of pesticides on microbial persistence in aquatic ecosystems. Critical Reviews in Toxicology 45:813-836

Ortega, C.N.*, Price, W., Campbell, T. Rohr, J.R. 2015. Acquired and introduced macroparasites of the invasive Cuban treefrog, Osteopilus septentrionalis. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife 4:379-384

Civitello, D.J.†, Cohen, J.*, Fatima, H.§, Halstead, N.T.*, McMahon, T.A.†, Ortega, C.N.*, Sauer, E.*, Rohr, J.R. 2015. Reply to Salkeld et al.: Diversity-disease patterns are robust to study design, selection criteria, and publication bias. Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 112: E6262 http://www.pnas.org/content/112/46/E6262.full.pdf

Civitello, D.J.†, Cohen, J.*, Fatima, H.§, Halstead, N.T.*, Liriano, J.§, McMahon, T.A.†, Ortega, C.N.*, Sauer, E.*, Sehgal, T.§, Young, S.*, Rohr, J.R. 2015. Biodiversity inhibits parasites: broad evidence for the dilution effect. Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 112:8667–8671

Buck, J.C.*, Scholz, K.I. Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2015. Trophic dynamics in an aquatic community: Interactions among primary producers, grazers, and a pathogenic fungus. Oecologia 178:239–248

McMahon, T.A.*, Rohr, J.R. 2015. Transition of chytrid fungus infection from mouthparts to hind limbs during amphibian metamorphosis. EcoHealth 12:188-193

Sears, B.F.*, Snyder, P.W.§, Rohr, J.R.¥ 2015. Host life-history and host-parasite syntopy predict behavioral resistance and tolerance to trematode parasites. Journal of Animal Ecology 84:625-636

Rohr, J.R., Civitello, D.J.†, Crumrine, P.W., Halstead, N.T.*, Miller, A.D§, Schotthoefer, A.M., Stenoien, C.§, Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2015. Predator diversity, intraguild predation, and indirect effects drive parasite transmission. Proceedings of the National Academy of the United States of America 112:3008-3013

Raffel, T.R.†, Halstead, N.T.*, McMahon, T.A.*, Davis, A.K., Rohr, J.R. 2015. Temperature variability and moisture synergistically interact to exacerbate an epizootic disease. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 282:20142039

 

2014

Staley, Z.R.*, Senkbeil, J.K.§, Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2014. Agrochemicals indirectly increase survival of E. coli O157:H7 and indicator bacteria in freshwater by reducing ecosystem services. Ecological Applications 24:1945-1953

Civitello, D.J.†, Rohr, J.R. 2014. Disentangling the effects of parasite exposure and host susceptibility on parasite transmission: an illustration with the human zoonotic parasite, Schistosoma mansoni. Journal of Animal Ecology 83:1379-1386

McMahon, T.A.*, Sears, B.F.*, Venesky, M.D.†, Brown, J.M.*, Deutsch, K.§, Halstead, N.T.*, Lentz, G.§, Tenouri, N.§, Young, S.*, Civitello, D.J.†, Ortega, N.*, Fites, J.S.*, Reinert, L.K.*, Rollins-Smith, L.A., Raffel, T.R.†, Rohr, J.R.¥ 2014. Amphibians acquire resistance to live and dead fungus overcoming fungal immunosuppression. Nature 511:224-227

Venesky, M.D.†, Liu, X., Sauer, E.§, Rohr, J.R. 2014. Linking manipulative experiments to field data to test the dilution effect. Journal of Animal Ecology 83:557-565

Venesky, M.D.†, Raffel, T.R, McMahon, T.A.*, Rohr, J.R. 2014. Confronting inconsistencies in the amphibian-chytridiomycosis system: implications for disease management. Biological Reviews 89:477-483

 

2013

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Halstead, N.T.*, McMahon, T.A.*, Johnson, S.A., Boughton, R.K., Martin, L.B. 2013. Early-life exposure to an herbicide has enduring effects on pathogen-induced mortality. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280:20131502

Sears, B.*, Snyder, P.§, Rohr, J.R. 2013. No effects of two anesthetic agents on circulating leukocyte counts or resistance to trematode infections in larval amphibians. Journal of Herpetology 47:498-501

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R., Blaustein, A.R., Johnson, P.T.J., Paull, S.H., Young, S.* 2013. Using physiology to understand climate-driven changes in disease and their implications for conservation. Conservation Physiology 1:cot022-cot022

Sears, B.F.*, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Loss of trematode parthenitae in Planorbella trivolvis (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Journal of Parasitology 99:738-739

McMahon, T.A.*, Romansic, J.M.†, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Non-monotonic and monotonic effects of pesticides on the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in culture and on tadpoles. Environmental Science and Technology 47:7958-7964

Sears, B.F.*, Snyder, P.W.§, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Infection deflection: hosts control parasite location with behavior to improve tolerance. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20130759

Venesky, M.D.†, Hanlon, S.M.*, Lynch, K.§, Parris, M.J., Rohr, J.R. 2013. Optimal digestion theory does not predict the effect of pathogens on intestinal plasticity. Biology Letters 9: 20130038

Raffel, T.R.†, Romansic, J.M.†, Halstead, N.T.*, McMahon, T.A.*, Venesky, M.D.†, Rohr, J.R.¥ 2013. Disease and thermal acclimation in a more variable and unpredictable climate. Nature Climate Change 3: 146-151

Liu, X., Rohr, J.R., Li, Y. 2013. Climate, vegetation, introduced hosts and trade shape a global wildlife pandemic. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 280: 20122506

McMahon, T.A.*, Brannelly, L.A.*, Chatfield, M.W.H.†, Johnson, P.T.J., Joseph, M.B.*, McKenzie, V.J., Richards-Zawacki, C.L., Venesky, M.D.†, Rohr, J.R. 2013. Chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has nonamphibian hosts and releases chemicals that cause pathology in the absence of infection. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 210-215

 

2012

Sears, B.F*, Schlunk, A.D.§, Rohr, J.R. 2012. Do parasitic trematode cercariae demonstrate a preference for susceptible host species? PLoS ONE 7(12): e51012

Staley, Z.R.*, Senkbeil, J.K.§, Rohr, J.R., Harwood, V.J. 2012. Lack of direct effects of agrochemicals on zoonotic pathogens and fecal indicator bacteria. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78: 8146-8150

Koprivnikar, J., Marcogliese, D.J., Rohr, J.R., Orlofske, S.A.*, Raffel, T.R.†, Johnson, P.T.J. 2012. Macroparasite infections of amphibians: What can they tell us? EcoHealth 9: 342-360

Venesky, M.D.†, Mendelson, J.R., Sears, B.F.*, Stiling, P.D., Rohr, J.R. 2012. Selecting for tolerance against pathogens and herbivores to enhance the success of reintroduction and translocation programs. Conservation Biology 26: 586-592

Johnson, P.T.J., Rohr, J.R., Hoverman, J.T. Kellermanns, E., Bowerman, J., Lunde, K.B. 2012. Living fast and dying of infection: Host life history drives interspecific variation in infection and disease risk. Ecology Letters 15: 235-242

 

2011

Sears, B.F.*, Rohr, J.R., Allen, J.E., Martin, L.B. 2011. The economy of inflammation: when is less more? Trends in Parasitology 27: 382-387

Schotthoefer, A.M., Rohr, J.R., Cole, R.A., Koehler, A.V., Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Beasley, V.R. 2011. Effects of wetland and landscape variables on parasite communities of Rana pipiens: links to anthropogenic changes. Ecological Applications 21: 1257-1271

Romansic, J.M.†, Johnson, P.T.J., Searle, C.L.*, Johnson, J.E., Tunstall, T.*, Han, B.A., Rohr, J.R., Blaustein, A.R. 2011. Individual and combined effects of multiple pathogens on Pacific treefrogs. Oecologia 166: 1029-1041

Rohr, J.R., Dobson, A.P., Johnson, P.T.J., Kilpatrick, A.M., Paull, S.H.*, Raffel, T.R., Ruiz-Moreno, D., Thomas, M.B. 2011. Frontiers in climate change-disease research. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 26: 270-277 (invited submission)

Raffel, T.R.†, Lloyd-Smith, J.O., Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J., Rohr, J.R. 2011. Does the early frog catch the worm? Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles. Oecologia 165: 1031-1042

Rohr, J.R., Halstead, N.T.*, Raffel, T.R.† 2011. Modelling the future distribution of the amphibian chytrid fungus: The influence of climate and human-associated factors. Journal of Applied Ecology 48: 174-176 (invited submission)

 

2010

Raffel, T.R.†, Michel, P.J. §, Sites, E.W. §, Rohr, J.R. 2010. Does temperature drive chytrid infections in newt populations?  Associations with leaf litter, vegetation and shade. EcoHealth 7: 526-536

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.†, Hall, C.§ 2010. Developmental variation in resistance and tolerance in a multi-host-parasite system. Functional Ecology 24: 1110-1121

Raffel, T.R.†, Hoverman, J.T.†, Halstead, N.T., Michel, P.§, Rohr, J.R. 2010. Parasitism in a community context: Trait-mediated interactions with competition and predation. Ecology 91: 1900-1907

Martin, L.B., Hopkins, W.A., Mydlarz, L.D., Rohr, J.R. 2010. The effects of anthropogenic global change on immune functions and disease resistance. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences: The Year in Ecology and Conservation Biology 1195: 129-148 (invited submission)

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.† 2010. Linking global climate and temperature variability to widespread amphibian declines putatively caused by disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 107: 8269-8274

Rohr, J.R., McCoy, K.A.† 2010. A qualitative meta-analysis reveals consistent effects of atrazine on freshwater fish and amphibians. Environmental Health Perspectives 118: 20-32

 

2009

Raffel, T.R.†, Sheingold, J.L.§, Rohr, J.R. 2009. Lack of pesticide toxicity to Echinostoma trivolvis eggs and miracidia. Journal of Parasitology 95: 1548-1551

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.†, Sessions, S.K. 2009. Digenetic trematodes and their relationship to amphibian declines and deformities. In: Amphibian Biology. vol. 8. Amphibian Decline: Diseases, Parasites, Maladies, and Pollution. series editor Heatwole, H. & Wilkinson, J.W. Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, Australia, pp 3067-3088

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.†, & Swan, A.§, Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasites, info-disruption, and the ecology of fear. Oecologia 159: 447-454

Raffel, T.R.†, Le Gros, R.J.§, Love, B.C., Rohr, J.R., Hudson, P.J. 2009. Parasite age-intensity relationships in red-spotted newts: Does immune memory influence salamander disease dynamics? International Journal for Parasitology 39: 231-241

 

2008

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.†, Romansic, J.†, McCallum, H., Hudson, P.J. 2008. Evaluating the links between climate, disease spread, and amphibian declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 105: 17436-17441

Rohr, J.R., Schotthoefer, A.M., Raffel, T.R.†, Carrick, H.J., Halstead, N., Hoverman, J.T.†, Johnson, C.M., Johnson, L.B., Lieske, C., Piwoni, M.D., Schoff, P.K., Beasley, V.R. 2008. Agrochemicals increase trematode infections in a declining amphibian species. Nature 455: 1235-1239

Raffel, T.R.†, Martin, L.B., Rohr, J.R. 2008. Parasites as predators: unifying natural enemy ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 23: 610-618 (invited submission)

Rohr, J.R., Raffel, T.R.†, Sessions, S.K., Hudson, P.J. 2008. Understanding the net effects of pesticides on amphibian trematode infections. Ecological Applications 18: 1743-1753

 

2006

Raffel, T.R.†, Rohr, J.R., Kiesecker, J.M., Hudson, P.J. 2006. Negative effects of changing temperature on amphibian immunity under field conditions. Functional Ecology 20: 819-828

Dobson, A.P, Cattadori, I. Holt, R.D., Ostfeld, R.S., Keesing, F., Krichbaum, K.*, Rohr, J.R., Perkins, S.E., Hudson, P.J. 2006. Sacred cows and sympathetic squirrels: The importance of biological diversity to human health. PLoS Medicine 3: 714-718

​

bottom of page