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Breda M. Zimkus, Ph.D.

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
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     Breda M. Zimkus, Ph.D.
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    I am the Director of Collections Operations at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, a center for research and education focused on the comparative relationships of animal life. The MCZ's collections are comprised of approximately 21-million extant and fossil invertebrate and vertebrate specimens, which are integral to research and teaching within Harvard University and are a resource to the larger scientific community.

    I am interested in the development of best practices for natural history collections and am involved in disseminating information regarding the growing number of domestic and international legal issues are confronting biodiversity collections. I am currently working as member of the Steering Committee of the Biodiversity Collections Network (https://bcon.aibs.org/) to build a broader community vision for the future of biodiversity collections.

    My research is focused on the biodiversity, biogeography, phylogenetics and conservation of amphibians and reptiles. This work integrates a broad range of techniques, including fieldwork, taxonomy, and molecular systematics, to interpret patterns of speciation and diversity.  I am particularly interested in the phylogenetic diversification of African amphibians and use of molecular tools to define species boundaries. Most of my work to date has been involved in investigating two widespread frog families, puddle frogs (Phrynobatrachidae) and grass frogs (Ptychadenidae), to understand the complex diversification patterns of these lineages across sub-Saharan Africa. I am also the creator and administrator of African Amphibians, an online community-driven resource for information on the amphibians of Africa. To learn more about this project, visit http://africanamphibians.myspecies.info.

     

     

     

Recent Publications

  • Transparency about origins and uses: digitally tracking permits and other legal compliance documentation in natural history collection management systems
  • Gene flow in phylogenomics: Sequence capture resolves species limits and biogeography of Afromontane forest endemic frogs from the Cameroon Highlands.
  • Chytrid Pathogen (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) in African Amphibians: A Continental Analysis of Occurrences and Modeling of Its Potential Distribution
  • A new species of Phrynobatrachus (Amphibia: Anura: Phrynobatrachidae) from the Northern Mountains of Tanzania
  • Evolutionary history of the Cameroon radiation of puddle frogs (Phrynobatrachidae: Phrynobatrachus), with descriptions of two critically endangered new species from the northern Cameroon Volcanic Line
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