Experimental Evidence for Aposematism in the Dendrobatid Poison Frog, Oophaga pumilio
Title: Experimental Evidence for Aposematism in the Dendrobatid Poison Frog
Oophaga pumilio
Authors: RALPH A. SAPORITO, RACHEL ZUERCHER, MARCUS ROBERTS, KENNETH G. GEROW, AND MAUREEN A. DONNELLY
Journal: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Volume, year, pages: Copeia, 2007, pp. 1006–1011
Scientific Article Overview
Download this document and type your answers after each question. For each question provide a brief but complete answer to the question (you should write in complete sentences and proofread your work for spelling and grammatical errors). Note that the answer may be found in more than one place. Remember that you should write in your own words. Do not copy and paste from the original article!!!
1. Why is this research important?
-This research is important in order to find out the true correlation between brightly colored (poisonous) Oophaga pumilio and their lesser rate of predation when compared to other inconspicuously colored dendrobatids. Without this research, we may not be able to find out if predators avoid certain colored prey or whether it is just coincidental that they do so.
2. What is the hypothesis or goal of the research?
-The hypothesis being tested is, “If an organism (Oophaga pumilio) is brightly/ conspicuously colored then there is a greater chance that the organism will not be preyed upon.” The goal of the research is to find out the true correlation between this coloration and the rate at which these organisms are attacked.
3. What are the major methods used?
-The process of this study relies heavily on experimentation as well as the use of models to represent each group being tested. In the experiment two groups are tested: the red and blue brightly colored frog models compared to the solid colored brown frog models. They used 800 models placed along 40 transects in the area of Costa Rica that the experiment was being conducted and both types of models were placed either on a white
Oophaga pumilio
Authors: RALPH A. SAPORITO, RACHEL ZUERCHER, MARCUS ROBERTS, KENNETH G. GEROW, AND MAUREEN A. DONNELLY
Journal: American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists
Volume, year, pages: Copeia, 2007, pp. 1006–1011
Scientific Article Overview
Download this document and type your answers after each question. For each question provide a brief but complete answer to the question (you should write in complete sentences and proofread your work for spelling and grammatical errors). Note that the answer may be found in more than one place. Remember that you should write in your own words. Do not copy and paste from the original article!!!
1. Why is this research important?
-This research is important in order to find out the true correlation between brightly colored (poisonous) Oophaga pumilio and their lesser rate of predation when compared to other inconspicuously colored dendrobatids. Without this research, we may not be able to find out if predators avoid certain colored prey or whether it is just coincidental that they do so.
2. What is the hypothesis or goal of the research?
-The hypothesis being tested is, “If an organism (Oophaga pumilio) is brightly/ conspicuously colored then there is a greater chance that the organism will not be preyed upon.” The goal of the research is to find out the true correlation between this coloration and the rate at which these organisms are attacked.
3. What are the major methods used?
-The process of this study relies heavily on experimentation as well as the use of models to represent each group being tested. In the experiment two groups are tested: the red and blue brightly colored frog models compared to the solid colored brown frog models. They used 800 models placed along 40 transects in the area of Costa Rica that the experiment was being conducted and both types of models were placed either on a white