Amazonia: Project Updates...

Chloe's project:

"Last year I was a part of the Trinidad Expedition 2010 (just like Gillian and Kirsty were too). My project then, focused on the escape responses of the Trinidadian Stream frog; Mannophryne trinitatis. I was hoping to compare the difference in escape response between transporting males (the males of this species carry their tadpoles on their back, and deposit them in suitable pools of water), and males with no tadpoles, and females. However last year I was unable to collect sufficient data for transporting males as the frogs are extremely difficult to catch.

This year I am back on the island of Trinidad to continue my study and focus only on transporting males. This will complete my study, and will allow me to return to Glasgow to write a clear and accurate account of the stream frogs escape strategies. I am excited to be back, as Trinidad has an amazing and beautiful diversity of wildlife..."

Marie's project:

"The purpose of this experiment is to observe the climbing behaviours of several different Trinidadian Tree Frogs at various stages of their development. The heights they climb to, activity levels and preferred climbing surfaces will be observed and compared within and between species. The juvenile and metamorphic developmental stages of these frogs will be the focus of this experiment, and any information gained could be useful as these stages of their life history are particularly vulnerable for amphibians.

So far we have collected tadpoles of five different tree frogs from their natural habitats through various regions of Trinidad. These incude; the Small-Headed Tree Frog (Dendropsophus microcephalus), Red-Snouted Tree Frog (Scinax ruber), Rattle-voiced Tree Frog (Hypsiboas crepitans), Warty Tree Frog (Trachycephalus venulosus), and the Trinidad Monkey Frog (Phylomedusa trinitatis) . Once these tadpoles have grown to the required stage of their development, their climbing behaviours will be observed. We have got 2m high tanks, as last year's experiement (carried out by Laura Allen) the tanks weren't high enough, and Laura found that most species climbed to the top, so now we have extra high tanks in hope to have a more accurate idea of how high they prefer to climb..."

Roni's project:

"L. fuscus and P. pustulosus are two species of frog which are found in the foothills of North Central Trinidad. They breed breed during the wet season and the build foam nests from a secretion from the female during mating. However, these two aspects are all the species have in common. P. pustulosus will lay their foam nests on the surface of the water in any ditch that has enough water regardless of the number or types of species also present. Conversely, L. fuscus is extremely selective in their nest building and have only been found in ditches with one other species – P. pustulosus. L. fuscus also bury their nests in the sides of the ditches prior to rain and cover them and leave the rain to wash the hatched tadpoles out into the water.

Professor Roger Downie and colleagues have already studied the competition factors between L. fuscus and P. pustulosus. Their research concluded that L. fuscus maintains a definitive competitive edge over pustulosus: reaching metamorphosis faster, at bigger sizes and with better survivorship when P. pustulosus is present. It has also been shown that in the presence of L. fuscus tadpoles, P. pustulosus are decreased in physical survivorship than if they are raised alone. L. fuscus tadpoles have even been observed predating on un-hatched P. pustulosus eggs. The research this year is determining whether or not L. fuscus tadpoles able to maintain their competitiveness when they are not transferred into water until two and three weeks after hatching (something that would occur naturally if there was not sufficient rain to wash them out of their burrows).

I have currently set up and am maintaining all of my control tubs. I am aging L. fuscus tadpoles by maintaining them in tubs in the lab without providing food. This requires the tadpoles to use their energy stores (from the yolk of their egg) to maintain life rather than to grow. In one week I will put the first batch of aged L. fuscusin with newly hatched P. pustulosus. I will assess how long it takes the tadpoles of both species to reach metamorphosis and their weights and sizes when they do."

Mary's project:

"Hey there! I’m Mary and I’m doing my Honours Project on the Mannophryne stream frog while here in Trinidad. I had a bit of trouble getting them to do what I wanted in the beginning but after a rethink and redesign everything seems to be going well. I hope to look at the personalities of the frogs of Maracas Falls, Lopinot and Las Cuevas and see if they differ at all, as well as if the personalities vary between genders and, catching permitting, male frogs carrying tadpoles, and possibly if they react differently to threats (just a stick, nothing life-threatening!).

This means lots of trips out to the streams and even more time watching round the tanks back at the lab, taking note of all the time they spend in hiding in shelters and under leaves and the time they spend out in the open where I can see them. And these frogs can hide well! But I have the rest of the team helping me catch them, so everything is going great so far and I can’t wait to get to the Falls! It promises to be beautiful. And full of frogs."

Beck'y proejct:

The project aims to validate a method to measure adrenal activity non-invasively in the cane toad, Rhinella marinus (previously known as Bufo marinus). This method will then be used to monitor the adrenal response of individuals housed in different captive environments. Overall these finding can potentially be used towards the development of housing guidelines for a wider range of amphibians, using cane toads as a model species.

To assess adrenal activity we can measure adrenal hormones non-invasively in urine or faeces. In this project we will collect faecal samples from every individual during the time they are housed in each different environment. The faecal samples will be frozen and stored until they can be analysed using enzyme-immunoassay (EIA) techniques back at the University of Glasgow. We can then use this data to compile adrenal hormone profiles for each individual and assess the responses to each environment.

So far we are monitoring six individuals; three males and three females. Faecal samples collection is going well so far and we plan to go out and collect more cane toads soon.