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Characterizing Coqui Frogs at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens
Voiceover
Presenter(s)
Haley Moore
Abstract or Description
Billions of pounds of chemicals are used annually to control pests, despite concerns for human, wildlife, and ecosystem health. However, public gardens have long been champions of non-chemical pest control methods. In 2008, 18 male and female Coqui Frogs (Eleutherodactylus coqui) were introduced to Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens as a means of pest control. Coqui Frogs are small terrestrial frogs from the neotropics that breed year-round in suitable conditions. To determine the viability of this captive population, we analyzed population size and reproductive activity using exhaustive captures and male calling, an indicator of mating. Environmental parameters and frog morphology were also recorded. Since their initial introduction into a single room, the Coqui Frogs have expanded to 3 additional rooms. Using data from exhaustive captures, and assuming a 1:1 male to female ratio, there are at least 50 adult Coqui Frogs currently in Phipps, indicating population growth. We observed calling year-round with a positive relationship between calling and outside temperature and humidity. This study provides new insights into the breeding patterns and expansion of an unmanaged, captive population of frogs, opening opportunities of mark recapture studies using VIE tagging.
Comments
Mallory DeStefano4 years ago
Hi Haley, I really like your project! You did a great job explaining your research in the video, and your poster is so well organized and informative with aesthetically appealing figures. I had no idea that Phipps utilizes Coqui frogs as a form of pesticide-free pest control, so that was definitely interesting to learn. What did you enjoy most about conducting your research? What was something you found difficult?
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thank you Mallory! I definitely enjoyed spending time at Phipps and learning about the frogs! I would say the most difficult part of my research was the lack of similar case studies. We definitely had to design this model with a bit of creativity!
Kenzie Pereira4 years ago
Great job, Haley!! I love the coordinated theme (visuals) of your oral and poster presentations. Do you have any plans to continue this work?
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thanks Kenzie!! Dr. Woodley and I are currently working to write and publish a manuscript on this research. Unfortunately, I do not think I will be able to continue field research for this project, but I would love to be able to pass it on to another undergraduate student to see where they can take it! But don't worry, you can definitely find me at Phipps very often :)
Robert Sroufe4 years ago
Good work on the data collection design of the project and conclusions. I will also second the other comments on the presentation and poster.
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thank you so much Robert!
Jason Heming4 years ago
Hi Haley. Great job on your poster and recording!!! Everything looks great and the poster goes through your work in a clear and concise way. I love Phipps and feel like this would be a fun project to work on! So I have two questions 1) Could you say a bit more about what "exhaustive capture" means? and 2) Do you think the length of time that the sun is up each day may play a role in the yearly breeding patterns that you observed? Thanks!
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thanks Dr. Heming! <br />An exhaustive capture is an event that takes place when we estimate calling rates to be pretty high. The idea behind them is to capture as many individuals as possible in order to gain a minimum population estimate. Since only male Coqui frogs call, we used these calls to guide catching efforts. We assume a 1:1 male to female ratio, resulting in the population estimates you see in table 1 on my poster. Hopefully that cleared it up a bit!<br />I definitely think the length of "daytime" has an effect on calling. Unfortunately one of the setbacks we realized came with this project is that Phipps is only open to the public certain hours. So when the sun sets later in those warmer months, we have less time after sunset to gauge calling rates. It would definitely be interesting to see how/if the mean calling rates if the "time since sunset" factor is kept constant.
Madison Uhrin4 years ago
Great job haley! You did a great job with your talk on Tuesday. Your poster is very visually appealing and I always like learning about your research at Phipps!
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thank you so much!
Kyle Emerson4 years ago
Excellent job Haley! I was wondering what kind of predation pressure these frogs experience in Phipps? Would that impact what you observe in their calling behavior?
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Haley Moore4 years ago
Thanks Kyle! We don't know much about predators for this specific population. We have seen cockroaches and a mouse in the botanical gardens, but we are still unsure of the relationship they have with the frogs, if any. This lack of predation might have played a factor in the population growth since their initial release.