Lauren Morrow Shannon Smith Dylan Kirby Reps & Amps Feb 27th, 2012

In the Rara Avis expedition of 2012, the reptiles and amphibians team is concerned with the recording and cataloging of any reptile or amphibian it encounters. One key focus is on the Bufo Marinus, also known as the Cane Toad. This enormous toad releases toxins from glands behind its eyes. Another topic of interest would be the study of Anole lizards, which have exotic defense behavior. When agitated, Anole lizards change color, bob their heads and extend a throat fan to ward off their predators. It is believed that this head-bobbing could be a form of communication between the lizards. Another species of focus is the Ameiva Festiva, which is a lizard that is believed to be able to regulate its own body temperature by moving itself into certain positions. Other rain forest expeditions have done research to validate this assumption.To study the population dynamics of certain poison-arrow frogs, sections of forest were sectioned off to determine the male to female ratio in a given area. Previous teams have worked extensively to devise methods to capture and study the animals of focus. Some methods used to execute these experiments are pitfall traps, glue traps, and harnesses. A pitfall trap is simply a bucket submerged under the soil surface to catch reptiles and amphibians that are difficult to catch by hand. This year, the team will try to improve the harnessing technique for the Bufo Marinus toads. A more toad-friendly design could include an elastic and magnetic harness secured in front of the rear haunches of the toad on which the spool of tracking

string could be mounted. With this design, the toad would not have to wear the harness for life if it should escape, because the magnets would come apart when the toad flees from a predator. A possible future study could be on the striking habits of different snakes. This could be studied by first capturing a snake, then putting it in a chicken-wire crate and introducing live bait. The striking position of a snake would yield important information regarding its own hunting practices. If it stayed on the ground, it probably feeds on small non-climbing animals. If it curled itself around a stick before striking, it probably feeds on climbing animals in the canopy. If it does not try to hunt the prey immediately, it may hunt in the water. Further research could be done on the Anole lizards by analyzing the reactions between two males, two females, and a heterosexual pair. The head-bobbing and throat fanning could be either a way to attract a mate or a way to warn other members of the species to back off. Throughout the two-week period the team will be going on daily hikes, filling out data sheets with important information on the animals that we catch, their habitat and behavior. The data sheets will be cataloged together with photographs of each animal for later research by project leader Dr. Twan Leenders, a herpetologist with 20 years of experience working in Costa Rica. Information gathered during this trip will be included in forthcoming field guides to the amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica that Twan is producing.

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