Poison frog research goes global

Last summer, Carolina students Tab Henry and Claire Pringle knew they would be studying poison frogs in the forests of La Selva, Costa Rica. What they didn’t expect was to be featured in an episode of the Emmy-winning PBS travel show, “Samantha Brown’s Places to Love.”

“It was nice to communicate to a broader population that maybe knows nothing about frogs, Costa Rica, or the important role that the frogs play in our environment,” said Henry, a second-year doctoral student in biology in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences. “And we had an opportunity to show how cool frogs are.”

Pringle, a senior majoring in neuroscience in the College, described the interview as nerve-wracking but exciting. The duo enjoyed working with Brown and her crew, who showed great interest in the frogs and their research.

Poison frogs are among the most toxic species and are known for their bright colors — yellows, oranges, reds, greens and blues. They thrive in the rain forests of Central and South America.

Both Henry and Pringle worked for two years in the Burmeister Lab, led by UNC-Chapel Hill biology professor Sabrina Burmeister, before pursuing global research at the La Selva research station of the Organization for Tropical Studies. The nonprofit with a 60-year mission to sustain tropical ecosystems offered the students the opportunity to see the green-and-black poison frogs — which the Burmeister Lab studies — in their natural habitat.

“It was hands down the best experience I’ve had at Carolina. It was life changing,” said Pringle, a Burch Fellow. The Burch Fellowship, housed within Honors Carolina, offers students funding to pursue an interest they are passionate about, no matter the location.

Henry and Pringle were the first students to conduct research on wild poison frogs for the Burmeister Lab.

Henry’s research explores spatial cognition and the mental processes that poison frogs use for navigation. Green-and-black poison frogs exhibit unique parental care behaviors, with males transporting tadpoles up to 400 meters to a water source. His work examines how this ability develops in juvenile frogs, a phase of development he said is overlooked in scientific literature.

Pringle’s research focuses on frog memory and the learning associated with visual cues that are crucial to retracing steps, a skill that is necessary to transport frog eggs to a pool of water for hatching.

“When people hear ‘poison frogs,’ they assume we’re interested in the toxins they produce, but we are really focused on studying the cognitive abilities that allow their unique parental care,” she said.

Pringle and Henry were the first Burmeister Lab researchers to study poison frogs abroad. (Submitted/Tab Henry)

Challenges in rainforest research included limited materials to develop experiments and thunderstorms that forced them to abandon metal field equipment.

“I grew as a scientist for sure. I learned how to problem-solve,” said Pringle.

While staying on site in cabanas, they often woke to the sound of howler monkeys at 5 a.m. and spotted sloths leisurely crossing the Sarapiquí River before breakfast.

They remain in contact with many of the people they met in Costa Rica.

“They say, ‘Tropical friends are life friends,’” said Henry.

Pringle, who is writing her senior thesis about her research, will present her findings at the psychology and neuroscience department’s Honors Poster Session and the Celebration of Undergraduate Research at the end of the spring semester.

Henry plans to continue his research on frogs for the next few years.

“I’m grateful that we had the resources here at Carolina to be able to send me to Costa Rica,” he said.

Read more about their Costa Rica experience.