NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2021: Diet and defense: characterizing the relationship between poison frogs and their tropical ant prey

Fiocca, Katherine, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2021, Broadening Participation of Groups Underrepresented in Biology. The Fellowship supports a research and training plan for the Fellow that will increase the participation of groups underrepresented in biology. The research project will focus on the relationship between tropical poison frogs and their toxic ant prey through both field-based and lab-based experiments. Poison frogs feed on toxic insects to obtain their chemical defense, consuming only a small subset of ants when compared to all those available, but little is known about how and why these specific choices are made. As tropical habitats disappear due to human modification and the changing environment, insects will continue to decline. The project will test poison frogs prey choice to determine the specificity of their diet, and the severity of the extinction threat they may face if their ant prey disappears due to the current global insect loss. The Fellow will also focus on broadening the participation of historically underrepresented groups in Biology by collaborating with local schools to provide tools to conduct frog research, as well as mentoring, collaborating with, and supporting undergraduate students and postdoctoral researchers at the host institution. To understand the specificity of poison frog prey selection and possible behavioral drivers, the Fellow will combine field sampling in South America and laboratory experiments at the host institution and will ask if prey toxicity or morphology drives frog prey selection. Chemical profiles from wild-caught poison frogs and ant prey will be characterized using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and frog stomach contents will be dissected and identified using DNA barcoding. Community ants will be collected to compare diet selection to overall ant availability, and morphology of ants will be quantified using size and coloration measurements. Frog colonies at the host institution will be employed to test behavioral drivers of prey selection, including size and toxicity, and measuring foraging response. The Fellow will participate in broadening the representation of historically underrepresented students in Biology by 1) partnering with local students to bring independent frog research into the K-12 classroom, 2) mentoring and providing academic resources to undergraduate students with intersectional identities, and 3) recruiting and collaborating with postdoctoral scholars at the host institution. The Fellow will also pursue training in current pedagogical techniques with a focus on inclusive teaching methods and developing course materials at the host institution. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.