RESEARCH INTERESTS

D I am a taxon-based scientist and my research focuses on the ecology and evolutionary biology of tropical amphibians and reptiles. Because I am broadly interested in the ecology and evolution of amphibians and reptiles, it is difficult to categorize my research program. I have focused on tropical ecology, tropical herpetology, and tropical conservation since 1979. The tropics harbor diverse assemblages of amphibians and reptiles and we know very little about the evolutionary relationships of these organisms or their ecologies.

D Since I have joined the faculty at FIU I have worked on declining amphibians in the Neotropics, explored three Venezuelan tepuis, explored lowland forest in central Guyana, worked on space-use patterns in a Costa Rican frog (Dendrobates pumilio), completed my study of reproduction in Eleutherodactylus bransfordii, continued to work on the key to amphibians and reptiles of the La Selva Biological Station, described new species of tepui amphibians and reptiles, worked on restoration of alluvial forest in Costa Rica, and initiated research in central Florida.

D Much of my research is collection-based and I enjoy formal relationships with the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) and the United States Museum of Natural History (USNM). These institutions have aided my research efforts and in turn, I have added to their collections. I am currently working on describing new species of Neusticurus from northern South America, describing new species from the Iwokrama forest in Guyana, and I am continue to work with Chuck Myers (AMNH) on amphibians and reptiles collected from tepuis in Venezuela.

D I am working with Dr. Craig Guyer (Auburn University) on the amphibians and reptiles of La Selva. We have developed a dichotomous key to species based on color patterns, produced species accounts for all species, and reviewed herpetological research at the station. We continue to collaborate on research question based on the amphibians and reptiles of La Selva.

D During the 1970's amphibians and reptiles were collected from La Selva as part of a study of the dynamics of the leaf-litter herpetofauna. Sue Lieberman (US Fish and Wildlife Service) studied feeding in the amphibians and reptiles and Craig Guyer documented reproductive patterns in the most common anole species (Norops humilis). I documented reproductive patterns in Dendrobates pumilio prior to conducting my field studies of this species in the 1980's and recently submitted a manuscript describing patterns in the most common frog, Eleutherodactylus bransfordii. I am working with one of my students, Hardin Waddle and James Watling, on reproductive patterns in the remaining lizards. I am working with James Watling, on reproductive patterns in frogs.

D I am also working on the restoration of alluvial forest in northeastern Costa Rica. This project is collaborative with Carol Horvitz at the University of Miami. We are using the same experimental sites to determine how cacaoremoval affects plants, amphibians, and reptiles. The project was designed to involve our laboratory groups in an annual census of our 40 marked plots. To date, I have conducted the pre-removal census and one post-treatment census. This project has been funded out of pocket, by the Organization for Tropical Studies, and by a small grant from the Brookfield Zoo. I have worked extensively with Andres Vega on this project and in the not to distant future I hope to write up the results we have so far.

D In my efforts to initiate research in Florida, I became involved with the Kissimmee River restoration project. Although I had done only tropical research since 1979, I wanted to initiate research in Florida to provide students with opportunities to conduct research locally. My research in the Kissimmee River area has been challenging. I was contracted to monitor amphibians and reptiles in the Kissimmee River to lay a foundation for studies of the planned restoration of segments of the channelized river. It was supposed to be a long-term projected but it is now in its termination phase. This project has provided research opportunities for my lab and we visit the site as part of my annual workshop course. We sampled one of the marsh sites continuously for four years. We hope to initiate research in the Big Cypress next year following my sabbatical leave.

D Ralph Saporito recently received his BS from FIU (December 2000) and he is working with me and Dr. Keith Condon on granular glands in dendrobatid frogs. We examined sectioned skin from frogs of different sizes to determine if the number or size of glands changed with increasing size (and presumably age). We found amazing results. The glands of adults are extremely large and account for a large percentage of skin surface area suggesting that adults are better defended chemically than juveniles. We are currently writing this study up as a paper for the Journal of Morphology.

D I am working with John Daly (National Institute of Health) and Alex Espinosa (University of Panama) on a project looking for the source of dendrobatid toxins. Based on research John has done with dendrobatids in Panama, we know that the diet is derived from food items and we started the tedious research last year trying to isolate the source of the toxins. This is a new project that we hope will continue in the future.