Education

Ph.D. 2007

University of Missouri; Biological Sciences

M.S. 2002

University of Missouri; Biological Sciences

B.S. 2000

University of Wisconsin; Wildlife Ecology

Experience

2011-

University of Connecticut, Assistant Professor

2010-2011

University of Wisconsin, Department of Forestry and Wildlife Ecology, Postdoctoral Fellow

2008-2009

University of Wisconsin, Department of Botany, Postdoctoral Fellow

Research Interests

My research tests theories of habitat selection, migration and dispersal, and biodiversity and ecosystem function.  My motivation is to understand the factors that contribute to the long-term persistence of wildlife populations given the anticipated levels of global change, including land-use change, climate change, spread of invasive species, or wildlife disease.  I often study amphibians because they are conducive to experimental manipulation, members of both wetland and terrestrial ecosystems, readily accessible to students and the public, and most at risk of extinction globally among all terrestrial vertebrate groups.  Mammals are likely to be a focal group in several future research projects.   

Publications

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., D.M. MacFarland, K.J. Martin, and T.R. VanDeelen. In Review. Downed wood associated with roundwood harvest, whole-tree harvest, and unharvested stands of aspen in Wisconsin.  Forest Ecology and Management.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G. 2011. Anuran Larval Habitat Quality When Reed Canary Grass is Present in Wetlands.  Journal of Herpetology 45:000–000.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., R.D. Semlitsch, and F.R. Thompson III. 2009. Survival costs associated with wood frog breeding migrations: effects of timber harvest and drought. Ecology 90: 1620–1630.

Semlitsch, R.D., B.D. Todd, S.M. Blomquist, A.J.K. Calhoun, J.W. Gibbons, J.P. Gibbs, E.B. Harper, D.J. Hocking, M.L. Hunter Jr, G.J. Graeter, D.A. Patrick, T.A.G. Rittenhouse, and B.B. Rothermel. 2009. Effects of timber management on amphibian populations: understanding mechanisms from forest experiments. Bioscience 59: 853–862.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G. and R.D. Semlitsch. 2009. Behavioral response of migrating wood frogs to experimental timber harvest surrounding wetlands. Canadian Journal of Zoology 87: 618–625.

Méndez, S.I.S., D.E. Tillitt, T.A.G. Rittenhouse, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2009. Behavioral response and kinetics of terrestrial atrazine exposure in American toads (Bufo americanus). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 57: 590–597.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., E.B. Harper, L. Reharde, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2008. The role of microhabitats in the desiccation and survival of amphibians in a recently harvested oak-hickory forest. Copeia 2008: 807–814.

Harper, E.B., T.A.G. Rittenhouse, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2008. Demographic consequences of terrestrial habitat loss for pool-breeding amphibians: Predicting extinction risks associated with inadequate size of buffer zones. Conservation Biology 22: 1205–1215.

Hocking, D.J., T.A.G. Rittenhouse, B.B. Rothermel, J.R. Johnson, C.A. Conner, E.B. Harper, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2008. Breeding and recruitment phenology of amphibians in Missouri oak-hickory forests. American Midland Naturalist 160: 41–60. 

Semlitsch, R.D., C.A. Conner, D.J. Hocking, T.A.G. Rittenhouse, and E.B. Harper. 2008. Effects of timber harvesting on pond-breeding amphibian persistence: testing the evacuation hypothesis. Ecological Applications 18: 283–289.

Williams, B.K., T.A.G. Rittenhouse, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2008. Leaf litter input mediates tadpole performance across forest canopy treatments. Oecologia 155: 377–384.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., and R.D. Semlitsch. 2007. Distribution of amphibians in terrestrial habitat surrounding wetlands. Wetlands 27: 153–161.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., and R.D. Semlitsch. 2007. Post-breeding habitat use by wood frogs in a Missouri oak-hickory forest. Journal of Herpetology 41: 645–653.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., and R.D. Semlitsch. 2006. Grasslands as movement barriers for a forest-associated salamander: migration behavior of adult and juvenile salamanders at a distinct habitat edge. Biological Conservation 131: 14–22.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G, T.T. Altnether, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2006. Florescent powder pigments as a harmless tracking method for ambystomatids and ranids. Herpetological Review 37: 188–191.

Rittenhouse, T.A.G., M.C. Doyle, C.R. Mank, B.B. Rothermel, and R.D. Semlitsch. 2004. Substrate cues influence habitat selection by spotted salamanders. Journal of Wildlife Management 68: 1151–1158.