Symposium: Support for an International Symposium on Sequestered Defensive Compounds in Tetrapod Vertebrates, to be held August 17-22, 2008 in Manaus, Brazil

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Many animals employ toxic chemicals to defend themselves against predators. Such toxic compounds may be synthesized by the animal or acquired from an environmental source, usually the diet, and stored (sequestered) in their original toxic form. Such sequestered defensive toxins are widespread among invertebrate animals, but few examples are known among vertebrates. In recent years, however, several examples of sequestered toxins have been discovered in vertebrates. Certain frogs obtain defensive toxins from ants and mites, and some snakes obtain defensive compounds by consuming toxic amphibians. Additional groups of vertebrates are suspected of sequestering defensive compounds from prey, suggesting that this phenomenon may be more widespread than previously recognized. This project will support participation by U.S. researchers in an international symposium on sequestered defensive compounds in amphibians and reptiles, which will be held at the Sixth World Congress of Herpetology in Manaus, Brazil, August 17-22, 2008. The symposium will bring together researchers from the several countries to present results of recent studies on sequestered toxins. The participants will seek to identify common patterns in the ecology and physiology of animals that rely on such toxins for their defense. For example, recent observations suggest that snakes that sequester amphibian toxins may be especially sensitive to ongoing amphibian declines. Other studies reveal that the cellular mechanisms underlying tolerance of prey toxins in some predators may provide insights into the physiological processes involved in certain cardiovascular diseases. Importantly, this symposium features a number of young scientists, whose work is transforming this field of study; the majority of the funding will support these individuals. By presenting this symposium at an international conference, especially in a region of high biodiversity (Amazonian Brazil), the organizers seek to encourage young researchers from many nations to pursue research on sequestered toxins in previously unstudied groups of vertebrates.