Most people think of New York as a city of concrete and high-rises, so who would have thought that a boy from Queens, New York, would become one of ASU's lead biology research professors? James Collins, who now studies the role of pathogens in amphibian decline, despite his city life childhood, grew up in the outdoors.

As part of a large island, Queens is surrounded by water. "Water," Collins says, "was a constant presence."

Taking advantage of his surroundings, Collins recalls taking trips to the ocean, which gave him a chance to explore and look for animals on the beach. As a boy, Collins collected frogs, snakes and turtles and raised tropical fish.

"The ocean was a real big influence in shaping my early interests in biology," he said.

Little did he know how big of an influence his explorations as a boy, would be on his decisions later on in life. 

For Collins, studying amphibian decline turned out to be a "happy marriage." Not only did he always like amphibians, but they just happened to work into his research interests as well.

In order to get his degree in biology, Collins had to leave other career choices behind. Starting out as a freshman at Manhattan College, Collins recalls thinking about majoring in American history. He also has a love for kids that almost led him to study medicine and become a pediatrician.

Despite these other interests, Collins' increasing interest in ecology led him to get his doctorate degree from the University of Michigan in this subject. He did not dislike the other areas of study; Collins says his greater interest in Biology steered him in the direction of environmental studies instead.

He is now using his love for science to try to unravel the mystery behind why so many species of amphibians are declining around the world.

According to Collins, disease, toxins and global change are all possible explanations. Researchers in his lab are studying the possible role of pathogens, focusing specifically on viruses and fungi as hypotheses for the enigmatic, or mysterious reasons for these declines in animals.

While it is possible to identify the causes of disappearance for some species - land-use change, housing developments, the construction of shopping malls or the introduction of exotic species that prey on or compete with native species - this is not the case with amphibians.

"The enigmatic part of global amphibian decline," Collins says, "is that (these animals are) in the midst of national parks - protected areas in general. They're just dying in the middle of these protected areas."

With nearly one third of the world's amphibian species threatened and as many as 168 species that may already be extinct, Collins's work is a never-ending task.

However, he is confident that his work has not been in vain.

"I think the big accomplishment that we're going to have from this project now," he says, "is demonstrating once and for all that pathogens are part of global amphibian declines, including extinction of species."

He admits that evidence seems to be pointing in this direction, although the data has not yet been published.

Collins' pride extends beyond his research accomplishments. As a father of two girls, he has also remained true to his love for kids. Collins has been married 34 years and amidst his research, has managed to help raise his daughters, Beth and Amy.

"I'd stay home a couple or three days a week," he says. Then he and his wife would trade off and she would stay home a few days a week.

Collins has also worked with undergraduate students in the biology department at ASU, not only as a professor, but also as the director of the Undergraduate Mentoring in Environmental Biology research program. It is his work with students that Collins views as one of his biggest accomplishments.

"I'm proud of certainly the scientific discoveries," he says. "But it's the students that I leave after me that are around the country and around the world that in lots of ways are my proudest accomplishments."