Education:

Ph.D. in Zoology - Colorado State University, Fort Collins. 1982.
Dissertation: Selection Pressures Affecting a Dorsal Color Polymorphism in Rana pipiens. (David Pettus, Major Professor)

M.S. in Zoology - Colorado State University. 1977.

B.S. with Distinction in Biology - University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. 1974.

Professional Background:

Stephen is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Research Zoologist hosted at the Leopold Institute. He received his Ph.D. in Zoology from Colorado State University in 1982 and has been employed as a scientist in the Department of the Interior since 1983. Steve’s research has included habitat relationships of vertebrates in Douglas-fir forests in western Oregon and Washington, effects of acid precipitation and ultraviolet radiation on amphibians, and several studies on desert tortoises in the Mojave Desert, including effects of translocation and grazing and methods to estimate abundance. Steve’s current research program is largely funded through the USGS Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI). Active research projects include status and trends of amphibian populations, particularly in the national parks on the Continental Divide, responses of amphibians to wildfire and disease, and effects of climate change on mountain amphibians. Steve has been recognized for contributions to the development of ARMI and received the USGS Central Region’s Science Excellence Award in 2004.

Research Interests:

Herpetology
Distribution and status of amphibians in western North America
Techniques for monitoring amphibian populations
Techniques for estimating abundance of desert tortoises
Translocation as a tool for managing declining amphibian and reptile populations
Effects of timber harvest on amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals

Current Projects:

Professional Experience:

1996-present Research Zoologist. Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute (Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center, USGS-BRD), Missoula, MT
1993-1996 Research Zoologist, Midcontinent Ecological Science Center, National Biological Service, Ft. Collins, CO
1991-1993 Zoologist. National Ecology Research Center, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ft. Collins, CO
1988-1989 Wildlife Biologist. Pacific Northwest Research Station, Forestry Sciences Laboratory, U.S. Forest Service, Olympia, Washington
1983-1991 Wildlife Biologist. Denver Wildlife Research Center/National Ecology Research Center, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Ft. Collins, CO

Service:

Participant on planning teams for the Department of the Interior Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative
Editor, Herpetological Conservation (Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles); Northwestern Naturalist (1993-1997; Society for Northwestern Vertebrate Biology)
Symposium Organizer, Amphibian Monitoring in Western National Parks, 1993; Effects of Fisheries Management on the Amphibians and Other Biota of Wilderness Lakes, 1998
Member, Wyoming toad and boreal toad recovery teams
Faculty affiliate: University of Montana, Idaho State University
Co-Chair, Rocky Mountain Working Group, Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force
Scientific Analysis Team; Forest Ecosystem Management Assessment Team; Interior Columbia Basin Ecosystem Management Project: amphibian viability panels

Selected Publications:

To access other publications by Steve Corn, please click here.

Corn, Paul Stephen. 2009. Selection of species and sampling areas: the importance of inference. In: C. Kenneth Dodd, Jr, editor, Amphibian ecology and conservation, a handbook of techniques. Oxford, U.K., Oxford University Press. Pp. 431-446.
Leopold Publication Number 680

Patla, Debra A., Charles R. Peterson, and Paul Stephen Corn. 2009. Amphibian decline in Yellowstone National Park. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 106(9):E22.
Leopold Publication Number 666

Goebel, Anna M., Tom A. Ranker, Paul Stephen Corn, and Richard G. Olmstead. 2009. Mitochondrial DNA evolution in the Anaxyrus boreas species group. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50:209-225.
Leopold Publication Number 665

Hossack, Blake R.; Corn, Paul Stephen; Fagre, Daniel B. 2006. Divergent Patterns of Abundance and Age-class Structure of Headwater Stream Tadpoles in Burned and Unburned Watersheds. Canadian Journal of Zoology 84:1482-1488.
Leopold Publication Number 655

Guscio CG, Hossack BR, Eby LA, Corn PS. 2008. Post-breeding habitat use by adult boreal toads (Bufo boreas boreas) after wildfire in Glacier National Park, USA. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 3:55-62.
Leopold Publication Number 653

Hossack BR, Corn PS. 2008. Wildland fire and seasonal wetlands: effects on water temperature and selection of breeding sites by the boreal toad (Bufo boreas). Herpetological Conservation and Biology 3:46-54.
Leopold Publication Number 652

Hossack BR, Corn PS. 2007. Responses of pond-breeding amphibians to wildfire: short-term patterns in occupancy and colonization. Ecological Applications 17(5):1403-1410.
Leopold Publication Number 651

Corn PS. 2007. Amphibians and disease: implications for conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Yellowstone Science 15(2):11-16.
Leopold Publication Number 606

Hossack BR, Corn PS, Fagre DB. 2006. Divergent patterns of abundance and age-class structure of headwater stream tadpoles in burned and unburned watersheds. Canadian Journal of Zoology 84:1482-1488.
Leopold Publication Number 655

Corn PS. 2005. Climate change and amphibians. Animal Biodiversity and Conservation 28:59-67.
Leopold Publication Number 572

Hossack BR, Diamond SA, Corn PS. 2006. Distribution of the boreal toad populations in relation to estimated UV-B dose in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Canadian Journal of Zoology 84:98-107.
Leopold Publication Number 568

Corn PS. 2003. Amphibian breeding and climate change: the importance of snow in the mountains. Conservation Biology 17:622-625.
Leopold Publication Number 467

Corn PS, Muths E. 2002. Variable breeding phenology affects the exposure of amphibian embryos to ultraviolet radiation. Ecology 83:2958-2963.
Leopold Publication Number 463

Professional Affiliations:

Contact Information:

Missoula Field Station, USGS
Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute
790 E. Beckwith Ave.
Missoula, MT 59801
Phone: 406-542-4191, 542-4190
Fax: 406-542-4196
E-mail: steve_corn@usgs.gov

ALSO: Dr. Stephen Corn - USGS Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center [NOROCK]

The Leopold Institute is administered by the Rocky Mountain Research Station of the U.S. Forest Service
and operates under an agreement with the U.S. Forest Service,
U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management,
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service.