Andrew Snyder, Ph.D.
Key Biodiversity Area Coordinator , Re:wild
Education
Ph.D., Biology, University of Mississippi
B.S. Ecology and Evolution, University of Maryland
Dr. Andrew Snyder serves as Re:wild’s Key Biodiversity Area Coordinator where he supports key aspects of Re:wild’s commitment to the KBA Partnership, including training, identification, reassessment, communication and fundraising support. He is also leading the effort to update the Alliance for Zero Extinction sites for amphibians and assisting with developing Re:wild’s Red List strategy following completion of the global amphibian update.
Andrew earned his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Mississippi examining phylogeographic patterns across the Guiana Shield and exploring species diversity and endemism, with a specialty on amphibians and reptiles. Through his research and participation in several international science-based expeditions with groups including Re:wild (formerly Global Wildlife Conservation), World Wildlife Fund, and Conservation International, he has traveled extensively throughout Guyana, where he still remains actively engaged. Prior to Guyana, Andrew spent several summers conducting surveys for the amphibians and reptiles of Cusuco National Park in Honduras and contributing to several amphibian chytrid fungus related projects.
Andrew’s passion for biodiversity began in his early childhood in the forests of Maryland and beaches of North Carolina. As his career has developed, so too has his desire for communicating nature, believing that establishing a personal connection to nature is key to furthering conservation efforts. He has intertwined his research with photography to raise awareness and communicate science to the broader public. In addition to his conservation work and photography, Andrew enjoys trail running, mountain biking, cooking, and spending time outdoors with his wife, kids, and dog.
Wild Facts
Andrew’s unplanned fieldwork experiences include an overly curious caiman who snacked on his boat, an unfriendly anaconda who snacked on his hand, and unwanted botfly and burrowing flea hitchhikers.
Thorp C, Phipps CD, Lonsdale G, Arrivillaga C, Brown TW, Snyder A. (2021) Ecnomiohyla salvaje Hylidae (Wilson, McCranie & Williams 1985) in Cusuco National Park, Honduras: morphological descriptions of adults and metamorphs with notes on ecology, natural history, and the conservation implications of amphibian chytrid fungus (Bd). Journal of Mesoamerican Biology 1: 70-88.
Vacher JP, Chave J, Ficetola FG, Sommeria-Klein G, Tao S, Thébaud C, Blanc M, Camacho A, Cassimiro J, Colston TJ, Dewynter M, Ernst R, Gaucher P, Gomes JO, Jairam R, Kok PJR, Lima JD, Martinez Q, Marty C, Noonan BP, Nunes PMS, Ouboter P, Recoder R, Rodrigues MT, Snyder A, Marques-Souza S, Fouquet A. (2020) Large-scale DNA-based survey of frogs in Amazonia suggests a vast underestimation of species richness and endemism. Journal of Biogeography, 47:1781–91.
Snyder A, Colston TJ. Amphibians and reptiles of the Upper Berbice Region, Guyana In Alonso, L.E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams (eds). 2018. Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the Upper Berbice Region, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No. 3. WWF-Guianas, Guyana Office. Georgetown, Guyana. 55-71.
Nyffeler M, Lapinski W, Snyder A, Birkhofer Y (2017) Spiders feeding on earthworms revisited: consumption of giant earthworms in the tropics. Journal of Arachnology 45(2): 242-247.
Snyder A, Colston TJ, Skybar L, Basil M, Ngala R. Amphibians and reptiles of the Kaieteur Plateau and the Upper Potaro River, Guyana In Alonso, L.E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams (eds). 2017. Biodiversity Assessment Survey of Kaieteur Plateau and Upper Potaro, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No. 2. WWF-Guianas, Guyana Office. Georgetown, Guyana. 73-91.
Snyder A., Bernard, C., Foster, L., Holland A., Lim B., O’Shea B., Persaud J., Taphorn, D. (2017) Kanuku Mountains Biodiversity Monitoring Training Program. Conservation International- Georgetown, Guyana.
Snyder, Andrew M (2016) Atractus trilineatus (Three-lined Ground Snake) Predation. Herpetological Review 47 (2): 308.
Snyder A., Pierre M., Gomes E., Noonan B. Amphibians and Reptiles of Kusad Mountain and the Parabara Region in the South Rupununi, Guyana In Alonso, L.E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams (eds). 2016. Biodiversity Assessment Survey of the South Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No. 1. WWF-Guianas, Guyana Office. Georgetown, Guyana. 66-86.
Bicknell J, Snyder A, Lim B.K., Horsley T, Hubbell C.B., Worthington R 2013. Monitoring Biodiversity by Operation Wallacea in the Iwokrama and Surama Forests. Guyana Research Report 2011-2013.