DISSERTATION RESEARCH: The evolution of advertisement calls in the phylogenetic context of other complex phenotypes in poison frogs

生物学的核心问题之一是不同的特征如何促进物种的生存和适应。毒蛙科（石蛙科）中的许多都濒临灭绝，它们有一种不同寻常的防御捕食者的能力：皮肤毒素和鲜艳的颜色的结合。在经历了令人讨厌的青蛙之后，像蛇或鸟这样的视觉捕食者就会学会避开类似的物种。这种引人注目和令人不快的结合就是警告。这项研究调查了行为特征，如交配叫声和代谢率，这些似乎与警告有关。假设是，警示物种有更明显的叫声和更高的代谢率；这使它们能够频繁地为配偶打广告，并不断地寻找食物，因为它们受到了天敌的保护。这一假设将通过记录广告呼叫和生理测量从警告和非警告物种进行测试。这些数据将用比较方法进行分析，根据DNA序列推断它们的进化关系和可能的关联。这项研究具有广泛的意义，因为它综合了许多类型的证据（例如，交配行为，生理学）来理解有助于物种生存的特征的进化。这项研究具有重要的科学意义，因为这些性状相互作用的结论适用于许多其他脊椎动物和无脊椎动物物种。

One of the central questions in biology is how diverse traits contribute to the survival and adaptation of species. Poison frogs in the family (Dendrobatidae), many of which are endangered, have an unusual defense against predators: a combination of skin toxins and bright coloration. After experience with the distasteful frog, a visual predator such as a snake or a bird, learns to avoid similar species. This combination of conspicuousness and unpalatability is aposematism. This research investigates behavioral traits, such as mating calls and metabolic rates, which appear to be related to aposematism. The hypothesis is that aposematic species have more conspicuous calls and higher metabolic rates; this allows them to advertise for mates frequently, and to forage for food continuously because they are protected against predators. This hypothesis will be tested by recording advertisement calls and physiological measurements from aposematic and non-aposematic species. The data will be analyzed with comparative methods that infer their evolutionary relationships and possible association based on DNA sequences.This research is broadly significant because it synthesizes many types of evidence (e.g., mating behavior, physiology) to understand the evolution of traits that contribute to species survival. The research is scientifically important because conclusions about these trait interactions are applicable to many other vertebrate and invertebrate species.