Herpetology

The call of Panama’s iconic túngara frog, subject of study for several generations of tropical biologists at STRI, has been likened to the peacock’s tail as a model for studies of sexual selection, the life-or-death behavioral risks involved in reproduction, and the neurobiology of mate choice. Long-term studies of the red-eyed tree frog examine the developmental trade-offs of embryos that hatch early to avoid depredation. STRI is also the headquarters for an international captive breeding program to save threatened frog species from extinction due to a lethal fungal disease that has wiped out amphibians around the globe.