Abstract
Theoretical and empirical advances over the past 50 years have revolutionized scientific understanding of amphibians. With this new understanding comes a host of new research questions whose answers demand the pursuit of otherwise independent scientific disciplines. In keeping with the objectives of the Young Investigators program, I propose to establish a new research program that combines cutting edge technologies and innovative approaches from multiple disciplines to investigate amphibian diversification at different scales. I will study amphibian systematics by conducting extensive field work in Brazil and Colombia (which boast the richest amphibian faunas in the world) and analyzing both phenotypic and DNA sequence evidence. I will use next generation sequencing to generate complete genomes for 30 species, which I will use to study genome structure and function and design universal primers to sequence targeted regions for phylogenetic analysis at different levels of divergence. Amphibian skin possesses a vast arsenal of defensive chemicals, and I will investigate the evolution and ecology of the diversity of defensive alkaloids in dendrobatids and the bufonid genus Melanophryniscus. Biological invasions are both an important threat to native species and a unique opportunity to study evolutionary and ecological processes. The invasive species Lithobates catesbeianus, the American bullfrog, has greatly expanded its distribution in recent years. I will use radio-telemetry to track the movement of individual bullfrogs to better understand the patterns and distances of invasive bullfrog movements, and I will use simulated acoustic invasions to study the effects of invasive bullfrogs on native biodiversity. (AU)
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