PRESS ROOM

ROYAL OAK, Mich., 

The Detroit Zoological Society (DZS) has appointed Ruth Marcec, DVM, Ph.D., as Director of the National Amphibian Conservation Center at the Detroit Zoo. She is responsible for leading amphibian care and welfare, breeding, conservation and research programs as well as guest experiences and learning at the center.

Dr. Marcec joins the DZS from Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens, where she served as Director of the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation. Prior to that, she was a graduate research assistant and lab manager for the Memphis Zoo.

“As a veterinarian and reproductive physiologist, Ruth brings a unique and valuable expertise in the health, welfare, breeding and conservation of endangered amphibians,” said DZS Chief Life Sciences Officer Scott Carter. “She is a great addition to the DZS life sciences leadership team.”

Marcec earned a Ph.D. in animal physiology from Mississippi State University. She also holds a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana and a Bachelor of Science in biology from Florida State University.

Distinguished as the first major conservation facility dedicated entirely to conserving and exhibiting amphibians when it opened in 2001, the National Amphibian Conservation Center houses a spectacular diversity of frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. The award-winning, state-of-the-art facility is world renowned for amphibian conservation, care, exhibition and research.