VITA - CATHERINE A. TOFT

 

Section of Evolution & Ecology,

Division of Biological Sciences and

Center for Population Biology

University of California

Davis, CA 95616

(916) 752-7614, 1272 (messages), FAX 1449

catoft@ucdavis.edu

 

EDUCATION:

 

Ph.D. - Princeton University, 1977

M.A.  - Princeton University, 1974

B.Sc. - Iowa State University, 1972

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

 

1991-present     Full Professor of Evolution and Ecology

                        Full Ecologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station

                        University of California, Davis

2002-2005         Associate Director

                        The John Muir Institute of the Environment

1984-1991         Associate Professor of Zoology,

                        Associate Zoologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station

                        University of California, Davis

1976-1984         Assistant Professor of Zoology,

                        Assistant Zoologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station

                        University of California, Davis

 

PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES AND AFFILIATIONS:

 

American Society of Naturalists

INTECOL (International Ecological Society)

Society for Conservation Biology

 

TEACHING:

 

Iowa State University:  Ornithology (Teaching Assistant)

Princeton University:  Introductory Biology; Population Biology; Animal Behavior (TA)

University of California, Davis:  General Zoology, General Zoology Laboratory; Principles of Ecology (lower division, undergraduate); Introduction to Ecology ; Seminar in Conservation Biology (upper division, undergraduate); Ecology of Parasites; Population and Community Ecology (graduate); lectures in Epidemiology of the Zoonoses (Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine);  Conservation Biology and Veterinary Medicine (Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Immunology); Conservation Biology (Graduate Group in Ecology).

 

RESEARCH:

 

Field research experience:  Vertebrate ecology in the midwest, desert regions of Utah, tropical rain forests in Panama, Peru, and Gabon, subarctic taiga in the Northwest Territories; botanical research in desert regions of Utah; ecology of arthropods in arid regions of California and the Bahamas; ecosystem and plant community ecology in the California deserts.

 

Current research interests: Community ecology, population ecology and behavioral ecology of selected taxa, most recently behavioral ecology and demography of desert arthropods (Bombyliidae; Sphecidae) and demography of perennial shrubs; plant succession in deserts; ecology and restoration of desert ecosystems, especially ecosystems on sand-dunes associated with Great Basin lake beds and shorelines; conservation biology, population biology and phylogeny of the parrots (Psittacidae).

 

GRANTS AND AWARDS:

  • Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Predoctoral Fellowship, 1974-75

  • National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Grant, 1974

  • Environmental Sciences Program, S.T.R.I., Grant, 1976-78

  • University of California, Davis, Faculty Research Funds, 1978-80;1985-90.

  • U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, support for research, 1978-80

  • Institute of Ecology, U.C. Davis, OPER Grant, 1980-81

  • Hatch Funds, U.C. Davis, Agricultural Experiment Station, 1981-present

  • National Science Foundation, Faculty Awards for Women 1991-1996

  • U.S.D.A., competitive grants, 1992-1994

  • Public Service Research and Dissemination Fund, 1992

  • Fellow, California Academy of Sciences, 1995-present

 

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS:

  • Mayhew, J.W. and C.A. Toft.  1971.  Distribution, abundance and mortality rates of larval and post-larval gizzard shad in Red Rock Reservoir.  Quarterly Biology Reports, Iowa Conservation Commission 19:61-64.

  • Toft, C.A. and S.L. Welsh.  1972.  A revision of the Psoralea lanceolata complex (Leguminosae).  Great Basin Naturalist 32:76-86.

  • Duellman, W.E. and C.A. Toft.  1979.  Anurans from Serrania de Sira, Amazonian Peru:  Taxonomy and Biogeography.  Herpetologica 35:60-70.

  • Toft, C.A. and W.E. Duellman.  1979.  Anurans of the lower Rio Llullapichis, Amazonian Peru:  A preliminary analysis of community structure.  Herpetologica 35:71-77.

  • Toft, C.A. and S.C. Levings.  1979.  Seasonal trends in litter arthropod populations.  (Tendencias estacionales relacionades con las poblaciones de arthropodos en la hojarasca.)  In:  H. Wolda (ed), Actas del IV Symposium Internacional de Ecologia Tropical, marzo 7-11, 1977, 2:559-576.

  • Toft, C.A.   1980.  Feeding ecology of thirteen syntopic species of anurans in a seasonal tropical environment.  Oecologia 45:131-141. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1980.  Seasonal variation in populations of Panamanian litter frogs and their prey:  A comparison of wetter and drier sites.  Oecologia 47:34-38.  PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1981.  Feeding ecology of Panamanian litter anurans:  Patterns in diet and foraging mode.  Journal of Herpetology 15:139-144.  PDF

  • Kimsey, L.S., R.B. Kimsey and C.A. Toft.  1981.  Life history of Bembix inyoensis (Sphecidae, Hymenoptera) in Death Valley.  Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 54:665-672.

  • Toft, C.A. and L.S. Kimsey.  1982.  Habitat and behavior of selected Apiocera and Rhaphiomidas (Diptera, Apioceridae), with descriptions of immature stages of A. hispida.  Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 55:177-186.

  • Toft, C.A.  1982.  Community structure of litter anurans in a tropical forest, Makokou, Gabon:  A preliminary analysis in the minor dry season.  Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 36:223-232.

  • Toft, C.A., D.L. Trauger and H.W. Murdy. 1982.  Tests for species interactions:  breeding phenology and habitat use in subarctic ducks. American Naturalist 120:586-613. PDF

  • Toft, C.A., A.S. Rand and M. Clark.  1982.  Population dynamics and seasonal recruitment in Bufo typhonius and Colostethus nubicola (Anura).  In:  E.G. Leigh, A.S. Rand and D.M. Windsor (eds) The Ecology of a Tropical Forest:  Seasonal Rhythms and Long-Term Changes.    Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 397-403.

  • Toft, C.A.  1983.  Community patterns of nectivorous adult parasitoids  (Diptera, Bombyliidae) on their resources.  Oecologia 57:200-215. PDF

  • Schoener, T.W. and C.A. Toft.  1983.  Spider populations:  Extraordinarily high densities on islands without top predators.  Science 219:1353-1355. PDF

  • Schoener, T.W. and C.A. Toft.  1983.  Dispersion of a small-island population of the spider Metepeira datona (Araneae:  Araneidae) in relation to web-site availability.  Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 12:121-128. PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and P.J. Shea.  1983.  Detecting community-wide patterns:  Estimating power strengthens statistical significance.  American Naturalist 122:618-625.  PDF   Reprinted in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology:  A Roundtable on Research, G.W. Salt (ed).

  • Toft, C.A. and T.W. Schoener.  1983.  Abundance and diversity of orb spiders on 106 Bahamian islands:  Biogeography at an intermediate trophic level.  Oikos 41:411-426. PDF

  • Toft, C.A., D.L. Trauger and H.W. Murdy.  1983.  Seasonal decline in brood sizes of sympatric waterfowl (Anas and Aythya, Anatidae) and a proposed evolutionary explanation.  Journal of Animal Ecology 53:75-92.  PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1984.  Activity budgets in two species of bee flies (Lordotus:  Bombyliidae, Diptera):  A comparison of species and sexes.  Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 14:287-296. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1984.  Resource shifts in bee flies (Diptera: Bombyliidae):  Interactions among species determine choice of resources.  Oikos 43:104-112.22.  PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1985.  Resource partitioning in amphibians and reptiles.  Copeia 1985:1-112. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1986.  Coexistence in organisms with parasitic lifestyles.  In:  J.M. Diamond and T.J. Case (eds), Community Ecology.  Harper and Row, N.Y.  pp. 445-463.

  • Toft, C.A.  1987.  Activity budgets and habitat use in two coexisting species of sand wasps (Microbembex:  Sphecidae, Hymenoptera).  Ecological Entomology 12:427-438.

  • Toft, C.A.  1987.  Population structure and survival in a solitary wasp (Microbembex cubana:  Hymenoptera, Nyssoninae).  Oecologia 73:338-350. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1989.  Population structure and mating system of a desert bee fly (Lordotus pulchrissimus:  Diptera, Bombyliidae).  I.  Male demography and interactions.  Oikos 54:345-358. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1989.  Population structure and mating system of a desert bee fly (Lordotus pulchrissimus:  Diptera, Bombyliidae).  II.  Female demography, copulations and characteristics of swarm sites.  Oikos 54:359-369. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1990.  Reply to Seaman and Jaeger:  An appeal to common sense.  Herpetologica 46:357-361.  (Invited)

  • Toft, C.A. and A.J. Karter.  1990.  Parasite-host coevolution.  Trends in Ecology and Evolution 5:326-9.  (Invited)  PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and M. Mangel.  1991.  From individuals to ecosystems; the papers of Skellam, Hutchinson and Lindeman.  Bulletin of Mathematical Biology 53:121-134.

  • Toft, C.A.  1991.  Current theory of host-parasite interactions.  pp. 3-15.   In:   Loye, J. and M. Zuk (eds.).  Ecology, behavior and evolution of bird-parasite interactions.  Oxford University Press.

  • Simon, M.P. and C.A. Toft.  1991. Diet specialization in small vertebrates:  Mite-eating in frogs.  Oikos 61:263-278.

  • Toft, C.A., A. Aeschlimann and L. Bolis (eds). 1991.  Parasitism:    Coexistence or conflict?  Oxford University Press.  384 pp.

  • Toft, C.A. and A. Aeschlimann. 1991.  Introduction:  Coexistence or conflict?. pp. 1-12.  In: Toft, C.A., A. Aeschlimann and L. Bolis (eds). Parasitism: Coexistence or conflict?  Oxford University Press.

  • Toft, C.A.  1991.  Perspective of an ecologist:  The population and  community consequences of parasitism.  pp. 319-343.   In: Toft, C.A., A. Aeschlimann and L. Bolis (eds). Parasitism: Coexistence or conflict?  Oxford University Press.

  •  Toft, C.A.  1995.  A ten-year demographic study of rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus):  Growth, survival and water limitation  Oecologia 101:1-12. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1995.  Evolution of diet specialization in poison-dart frogs (Dendrobatidae).  Herpetologica 51:202-216.

  • Mangel, M., L.M. Talbot, G.K. Meffe, M.T. Agardy, D.L. Alverson, J. Barlow, D.B. Botkin, G. Budowski, T. Clark, J. Cooke, R.H. Crozier, P.K. Dayton, D.L. Elder, C.W. Fowler, S. Funtowicz, J. Giske, R.J. Hofman, S.J. Holt, S.R. Kellert, L. A. Kimball, D. Ludwig, K. Magnusson, B.C. Malayang, C. Mann, E.A. Norse, S.P. Northride, W.F. Perrin, C. Perrings, R.M. Peterman, G.B. Rabb, H.A. Regier, J.E. Reynolds, K.Sherman, M.P. Sissenwine, T.D. Smith, A. Starfield, R.J. Taylor, M.F. Tillman, C.A. Toft, J.R. Twiss, Jr., J. Wilen, T.P. Young.  Principles for the conservation of wild living resources.  1996.  Ecological Applications 6:338-362. PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and R.G. Jaeger.  1998.  Writing for scientific journals I:  the manuscript.  Herpetologica 54 (Suppl): S42-S54. PDF

  •  Jaeger, R.G.. and C.A. Toft. 1998.  Writing for scientific journals II:  the review process. Herpetologica 54 (Suppl):S54-S63.

  • Toft, C.A.  1998.  Oral presentations at scientific meetings.  Herpetologica 54 (Suppl.): S67-S75.

  • Brown, D.M. and C.A. Toft.  1999.  Molecular systematics and biogeography of the cockatoos (Psittaciformes:  Cacatuidae).  Auk 116(1):141-157. PDF

  • Grosberg, R., A. Shapiro, and C. Toft.  2000.  In memoriam:  George W. Salt (1919-1999).  The American Naturalist 156(1):i. PDF

  •  Wright, T.F., C.A. Toft , E. Enkerlin-Hoeflich, J. Gonzalez-Elizondo, M.Albornoz, A. Rodríguez-Ferraro, F.J. Rojas-Suárez, V. Sanz, A. Trujillo, S.R. Beissinger, V. Berovides A., X. Gálvez A., A. T. Brice, K. Joyner, J. Eberhard, J. Gilardi, S. E. Koenig, S. Stoleson, P.  Martuscelli, J. M. Meyers, K. Renton, A. M. Rodríguez, A. C. Sosa-Asanza, F. Vilella, and J. W. Wiley.  2001.  Nest poaching in Neotropical parrots. Conservation Biology 15:710-720.  PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and D.L. Elliott-Fisk.  2002.  Patterns of vegetation along a spatiotemporal gradient on shoreline strands of a desert basin lake. Plant Ecology, 158: 21-39.  PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and T. Fraizer.  2003.  Stage-specific spatial dispersion and density dependence in a population of perennial desert shrub (Chrysothamnus nauseosus: Asteraceae).  Ecological Monographs 75:605-624. PDF

  • Cook, L.F. and C.A. Toft. 2005.  Dynamics of extinction: Population decline in the colonial Tricolored Blackbird Agelaius tricolor.  Bird Conservation International 15:73-88. PDF

  • McWilliams, S.R., T. Sloat, C.A. Toft, and D. Hatch.  2007. Effects of prescribed fall burning on a wetland plant community with implications for management of plants and herbivores. Western North American Naturalist 67:299-317. PDF

  • Benard, R.B. and C.A. Toft. 2007. Effect of seed size on seedling performance in a long-lived desert perennial shrub (Ericameria nauseosa: Asteraceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences 186: 1027-1033. PDF

  • Benard, R.B. and C.A. Toft. 2008. Fine-scale spatial heterogeneity and seed size determine early seedling survival in a desert perennial shrub (Ericameria nauseosa: Asteraceae).  Plant Ecology 194:195-205. PDF

  • Toft, C.A. and J.D. Gilardi, in press.  Parrots of the Wild:  A Natural History of the World’s Most Endangered Birds.  University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.

Manuscripts in preparation:

  •  Benard, R.B. and C.A. Toft, in preparation. Seedling establishment in a desert perennial shrub: causes and consequences of spatial aggregation.

  • Gilardi, J.D. and C.A. Toft, in preparation.  Foraging ecology of parrots in the Peruvian Amazon:  Nutrition, toxicity, and seed predation.

  • Floyd, K.W. and C.A. Toft, in preparation.  Spatial demography of greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus: Chenopodiaceae) in the Mono Lake Basin, California.

 

ABSTRACTS

  • Toft, C.A., D.L. Elliott-Fisk, and G.L. Schmid.  Development of late Holocene sand-dune ecosystems rimming Mono Lake:  Influence of hydrologic, geomorphic, and biological interactions. In:  Hall C.A., Jr. V. Doyle-Jones and B. Widawski. (eds.) The history of water: eastern Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley, White-Inyo Mountains.  White Mountain Research Station Symposium, University of California, Los Angeles. 4: 442.

  •  Elliott-Fisk, D. L., Toft, C. A., and Richards, J. H.  1993.  Development of late Holocene shoreline ecosystems at Mono Lake, California. --Association of American Geographers, Annual Meeting Abstracts, Atlanta GA.

  •  J.H. Richards, L.A. Donovan, K.P. Fort, E.J. Schaber and C.A. Toft.  1994.  Rapid establishment of shrubs on a recently exposed desert playa, Mono Lake, CA, (abstract). Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America (Supplement) 75:193.

 

 

BOOK REVIEWS

  •  Toft, C.A.  1992.  Review of “New World Parrots in Crisis:  Solutions from Conservation Biology.”  [Steven R. Beissinger and Noel F.R. Snyder, Eds.  Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C., 1992, 288 pp].  Science 257:275-6. PDF

  • Toft, C.A.  1995.  Review of “Introduction to animal parasitology.”  [J.D. Smyth.  Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York., 1994. 549 pp.]  The Quarterly Review of Biology 60:350.

  • Toft, C.A.  1998.  “Population dynamics in ecological time and space.” [Edited by O.E.Rhodes, Jr., R.K. Chesser, and M.H. Smith.  The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL., USA. 1996.  viii + 388 pp., index. $50.00, ISBN 0-226-71076 (cloth); $17.95, 0-226-71058 (paper).  The Journal of Wildlife Management 62(1): 422-424.

 

 

PUBLIC SERVICE AND NON-PEER REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

  • Welsh, S.L. and C.A. Toft.  1974.  Water, Stone, Sky.  Brigham Young University Press, 76 pp.   Provo, Utah.

  • Welsh, S.L. and C.A. Toft.  1981.  Biotic communities of hanging gardens in Southeastern Utah.  (Research Projects-1972 Projects), National Geographic Society Research Reports 13:663-681.

  • Toft, C.A.  1987.  Population biology of bee flies. (I). The Mono Lake Newsletter 9(4):11-12.

  • Toft, C.A.  1988.  Population biology of bee flies. (II).  The Mono Lake Newsletter 10(3):11-12.

  • Toft, C.A.  1989.  Population biology of bee flies (III).  The Mono Lake Newsletter 11(3):12.

  • Toft, C.A.  1990.  Ecology of the north shore dunes.  The Mono Lake Newsletter 12(3):9.

  • Toft, C.A.  1990.  Aviculture and the conservation of bird species:  The role of captive propagation.  Bird World 13(1):49-53. [Reprinted in the Avicultural Association of San Francisco Newsletter, September 1990]

  • Toft, C.A. 1990.  The genetics of captive propagation.  Part I.  Bird World 13(2):16-21.  [Reprinted in the Avicultural Association of San Francisco Newsletter, November 1990]

  • Toft, C.A. 1990.  The genetics of captive propagation.  Part II.  Bird World 13(3):42-57.  [Reprinted in the Avicultural Association of San Francisco Newsletter, February 1991]

  • Toft, C.A.  1990.  Genetics, conservation and species maintenance programs. Journal of the American Cichlid Association 141:2-10. [Reprinted in FishKeepers’ Advocate, April 1994, Volume 1(2): 1.]

  • Toft, C.A.  1991.  The genetics of captive propagation.  Part III.  Bird World 13(5):42-58.  [Reprinted in the Avicultural Association of San Francisco Newsletter, April 1991]

  • Toft, C.A., D. Elliott-Fisk, and J.R. Richards.  1992.  Development of late Holocene sand dunes on the north shore of Mono Lake.  Mono Lake Newsletter 14(4):18-19.

  • Toft, C.A.  1992.  Hybridization:  Does it have a place in aviculture?  Proceedings of the Parrot Biology Symposium for Aviculturists.  October 17, 1992.  Psittacine Research Project, Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis.  pp. 4-9.  [Reprinted:  The Squawker:  The Official Publication of the Northwest Ohio Exotic Bird Club.  January 1993, Volume 5(1) 1-5; Squawk:  Big Apple Bird Association.  February 1994, Volume 3(2):1 and March 1994, Volume 3(3):1.;  Pionus Breeders Association Newsletter.  Issue No. 23, Spring 1994.]

  • Toft, C.A., D.L. Elliott-Fisk, and J.R.Richards.  1993.   Development of sand dune ecosystems at Mono Lake.  Mono Lake Newsletter 15:18.

  • Toft, C.A.  1993.  Hybridization:  Does it have a place in aviculture?  Bird World 15(2):14-17. [Revised and reprinted Publication 13.]

  • Toft, C.A. and A. T. Brice.  1993.  Conservation status of the yellow-naped amazon in Guatemala.  The Amazona Bulletin 12(3):10-14. 

  • Toft, C.A. and A.T. Brice.  1993.  The Status of the Yellow-naped Amazon in Guatemala.  Exotic Bird Report 5(2) 1.  [Revised and reprinted Publication 16.]

  • Toft, C.A.  1994.  The genetics of captive propagation:  A manual for aviculturists.  Special Publications of Psittacine Research Project, Number 1.  Ann Brice, Ed.  Department of Avian Sciences, University of California, Davis.

  • Toft, C.A.  1994.  Straight talk about inbreeding. Part I. Bird World 15(6):39-41. 

  • Toft, C.A., C.H. Langley, and D.Brown.  1994.  Studies of parrot evolution at University of California, Davis.  The Amazona Bulletin, in press.

  • Toft, C.A.  1994-5.  “Ask the Professor” column, Pionus Breeders Association Newsletter.

  • Toft, C.A.  1995.  Captive propagation:  what is its role in parrot conservation?  Exotic Bird Report.  7:1-2.

  • Toft, C.A.  1995.  Communicating with scientific audiences.  Communications (Newsletter of The Herpetologists’ League), 2 (1):7-10..

  • Toft, C.A. 1995.  Straight talk about inbreeding.  Part II.  Bird World 16:34-5.

  • Toft, C.A. 1997.  Aviculturists:  Allies or Foes of Conservation?  Pionus Breeders Association Newsletter.  34:5-6.

  • Toft, C.A.  A look at cockatiel genetics.  1998.  In:  The Complete Book of Cockatiels by Diane Grindol. Howell Book House, New York.pp. 123-134.

  • Brown, D.M and C.A. Toft.  1999.  A cockatoo’s who’s who:  Determining evolutionary relationships among the cockatoos.  Exotic Bird Report 11:5-7.

  • Wright, T.F. and C.A. Toft.  2001.  Nest poaching for trade:  Europe should bring in the equivalent of the U.S. Wild Bird Conservation Act.  PsittaScene 13:6.

  • Toft, C.A. 2001.  The mystery cockatoo.  PsittaScene 13:11.

 

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