Flexible parental duties in frogs
Eva Ringler graduated from the University of Vienna with honors in 2011 and is currently
conducting research at the Department of Integrative Zoology at the Faculty of Life Sciences
as well as working as a postdoc at the Messerli Research Institute at the University of
Veterinary Medicine. Her focus is on studying the “flexible behavior of frogs”, specifically that
of the poison dart frog Allobates femoralis.
Ringler has already been granted several research awards and scholarships, most recently a
Hertha Firnberg Fellowship along with the Promotion Award of the City of Vienna and the
Gertrud Pleskot Award of the Faculty of Life Sciences.
Dr. Eva Ringler
Dr. Ringler, what are you currently working on?
The focus of my work is on the topic “Behavioural flexibility in anuran amphibians” (Hertha
Firnberg Fellowship of the Austrian Science Fund). Previous studies on flexible behavior have
dealt primarily with mammals and birds, the so-called “higher” vertebrates. Less is known
about cognitive processes in amphibians, for example strategic planning and behavioral
flexibility. In my current project I am studying the flexible behavior of frogs, particularly with
respect to reproduction and brood care. My research involves numerous behavioral
experiments both in the field and in our frog laboratory. The subsequent comparative analysis
of the results on different taxa will provide important insights into the evolution of flexible
behavior in the context of sexual selection and brood care.
Eva Ringler studies the behavior of Allobates femoralis, a species from the poison dart frog
family. © Andrius Pašukonis
How did you discover this research topic?
During my thesis on the “mating system and reproductive success in Allobates femoralis“, I
made numerous observations in the field. These provided the basis for the present
investigations. For example, I observed that A. femoralis females also sometimes carried
tadpoles to water bodies on their backs. However, typically the males are responsible for
transporting tadpoles. In subsequent studies I was able to demonstrate that females assume
this duty only when the “responsible” male is not present, i.e. has been predated or changed
its territory. This type of spontaneous compensatory behavior was previously known only in
species in which both sexes are involved in brood care. Such flexibility is also quite uncommon
in amphibians. The task now is to examine the underlying mechanisms that trigger
spontaneous female brood care behavior, for example individual or spatial information in the
male advertisement call.
You have already been granted several research awards and scholarships. What measures
would you like to see that would help advance your research activity?
I have successfully built up quite a large research group. We are working both in the field on
a frog population that we have established on a river island, combined with targeted
behavioral research in our frog lab (which now holds nearly 150 frogs). In order to tackle larger
projects, I would need to be able to plan over the long term, for example within the framework
of a tenure-track position.
Frog lab at the University of Vienna (top) and the frog island in French Guiana © Eva Ringler
What are your next goals?
In April 2017 I will be going to the USA for one year with my husband and two daughters.
There, at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles), I will have the opportunity to apply
functional magnetic resonance tomography (fMRI) to study leopard frogs (R. pipiens),
specifically differences in the metabolic activity of the brain when processing known and
unknown stimuli (acoustic and visual). This activity can be both localized and quantified.
Functional studies on the brain have never before been conducted on any amphibian species,
and this would be the first ever study on how new (previously unknown) signals are processed
in a non-primate vertebrate. This will yield important information on those neuronal
structures that are prerequisites for the development of flexible behavior. I will also shortly
be submitting my next stand-alone project application to the FWF.
Website of Eva Ringler: http://www.evaringler.info/