Graduate Students
Katherine Waters, M.S. in Biology, 2022
Thesis title: Ch1. Alkaloid variation among populations Dendrobates tinctorius from French Guiana; Ch2. Differences in epibatidine sequestration among lineages of dendrobatid poison frogs
Emily Staufer, M.S. in Biology, 2022
Thesis title: Alkaloid-based chemical defenses in 11 species of bufonid poison frogs from Brazil (Bufonidae: Melanophryniscus)
Olivia Brooks, M.S. in Biology, 2021
Thesis title: Variation in the maternal provisioning of alkaloids in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio: The relationship between mothers and their tadpole offspring
Nelson Rivera, M.A. in Biology, 2019
Thesis title: Alkaloid sequestration and granular gland development in Dendrobates auratus
Noemi Becza, M.A. in Biology, 2019
Thesis title: Pathogen resistance in alkaloid sequestering dendrobatid frogs
Annelise Blanchette, M.S. in Biology, 2017
Thesis title: The antipredator behaviors of cryptic and aposematic anurans and variability in alkaloids, conspicuousness, and pattern within Dendrobates auratus (Dendrobatidae)
Kyle Hovey, M.S. in Biology, 2016
Thesis title: Sequestered alkaloid defenses in the dendrobatid poison frog Oophaga pumilio provide variable protection from microbial pathogens
Meaghan Gade, M.S. in Biology, 2015
Thesis title: Ch1. An experimental test of female mate choice within a mainland population of Oophaga pumilio; Ch2. Color assortative mating in a mainland population of the strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio
Joshua Traub, M.S. in Biology, 2014
Thesis title: Ch1. Quantification of color and pattern in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio from the La Selva Biological Station; Ch2. A test of stabilizing selection in the aposematic poison frog Oophaga pumilio from the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Kelly Gronemeyer, M.S. in Biology, 2013
Thesis title: Antimicrobial function of alkaloids in geographically different populations of Oophaga pumilio (Dendrobatidae) and Melanophryniscus simplex (Bufonidae) frog skin
Maggie Hantak, M.S. in Biology, 2013
Thesis title: Ch1. Dietary alkaloid sequestration and chemical defense in poison frogs: An experimental test of alkaloid uptake in Melanophryniscus stelzneri (Bufonidae); Ch2. The role of chemical compounds in defenses against predation in Dendrobates auratus (Dendrobatidae) and Rhaebo haematiticus (Bufonidae)
Thesis title: Ch1. Alkaloid variation among populations Dendrobates tinctorius from French Guiana; Ch2. Differences in epibatidine sequestration among lineages of dendrobatid poison frogs
Emily Staufer, M.S. in Biology, 2022
Thesis title: Alkaloid-based chemical defenses in 11 species of bufonid poison frogs from Brazil (Bufonidae: Melanophryniscus)
Olivia Brooks, M.S. in Biology, 2021
Thesis title: Variation in the maternal provisioning of alkaloids in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio: The relationship between mothers and their tadpole offspring
Nelson Rivera, M.A. in Biology, 2019
Thesis title: Alkaloid sequestration and granular gland development in Dendrobates auratus
Noemi Becza, M.A. in Biology, 2019
Thesis title: Pathogen resistance in alkaloid sequestering dendrobatid frogs
Annelise Blanchette, M.S. in Biology, 2017
Thesis title: The antipredator behaviors of cryptic and aposematic anurans and variability in alkaloids, conspicuousness, and pattern within Dendrobates auratus (Dendrobatidae)
Kyle Hovey, M.S. in Biology, 2016
Thesis title: Sequestered alkaloid defenses in the dendrobatid poison frog Oophaga pumilio provide variable protection from microbial pathogens
Meaghan Gade, M.S. in Biology, 2015
Thesis title: Ch1. An experimental test of female mate choice within a mainland population of Oophaga pumilio; Ch2. Color assortative mating in a mainland population of the strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio
Joshua Traub, M.S. in Biology, 2014
Thesis title: Ch1. Quantification of color and pattern in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio from the La Selva Biological Station; Ch2. A test of stabilizing selection in the aposematic poison frog Oophaga pumilio from the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Kelly Gronemeyer, M.S. in Biology, 2013
Thesis title: Antimicrobial function of alkaloids in geographically different populations of Oophaga pumilio (Dendrobatidae) and Melanophryniscus simplex (Bufonidae) frog skin
Maggie Hantak, M.S. in Biology, 2013
Thesis title: Ch1. Dietary alkaloid sequestration and chemical defense in poison frogs: An experimental test of alkaloid uptake in Melanophryniscus stelzneri (Bufonidae); Ch2. The role of chemical compounds in defenses against predation in Dendrobates auratus (Dendrobatidae) and Rhaebo haematiticus (Bufonidae)
Undergraduate Students
Ella Church, B.S. in Environmental Science, 2023
Ella was an Environmental Science major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2021 and studied N-methylation of dietary piperidine alkaloids in poison frogs of the genus Ranitomeya, described a new defensive behavior in Dendrobates auratus, and worked on a project to characterize alkaloids in oribatid mites from northeast Ohio.
Annabel McQuillan, B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2023
Annabel was a Cellular and Molecular Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Spring 2022 and worked on a project to identify and characterize poison frog alkaloids in ants and mites from Costa Rica.
Mia Zivkovic, B.S. in Biology, 2023
Mia was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2021 and worked on an experiment aimed at better understanding sequestration of tricyclic alkaloids in poison frogs. Mia extracted tricyclic alkaloids from ladybird beetles, and conducted a series of feeding experiments with poison frogs in the genus Ranitomeya.
Kathryn Bacik, B.S. in Biology, 2022
Kathryn was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2019 and assisted with a project studying maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. Kathryn was also been involved in a major update of our labs poison frog alkaloid library. Most recently, she had also begun working on a project aimed at understanding how poison frogs in the genus Ranitomeya use smell to detect alkaloids.
Vincent Del Signore, B.S. in Biology, 2022
Vince was a Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2021 and worked with graduate student Katie Waters on an alkaloid feeding experiment aimed at understanding sequestration of the alkaloid epibatidine among different lineages of dendrobatid poison frogs. Vince also worked on an independent project to identify frog alkaloids in mites and ants from Costa Rica.
Nina Savastano, B.S. in Environmental Science, 2022
Nina was an Environmental Science major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2019 and worked on multiple projects. She researched anti predator behavior in the yellow-striped poison frog, Dendrobates truncatus, and maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in the granulated poison frog Oophaga granulifera. She was also awarded a 2019 Summer Undergraduate Fellowship (SURF) from JCU and studied the distribution of alkaloid defenses in the skin of the green and black poison frog Dendrobates auratus from Costa Rica. Nina also began a new lab project to characterize alkaloids from mites and ants in northeast Ohio. Nina was also in charge of caring for the labs captive poison frog colony
Ashley Brooks, B.S. in Biology, 2020
Ashley was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2017 and was in charge of our tropical frog collection - in particular, she worked to catalogue new specimens and maintain old specimens, and was also responsible for all live frog care. She was awarded a 2018 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from JCU, and studied variation in alkaloid defenses among populations of Oophaga granulifera and Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica.
Sophie Kocheff, B.S. in Biology, 2019
Sophie was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2016 and worked on a project to further understand how differences in the alkaloid defenses of poison frogs are perceived by arthropod predators. She was awarded a 2017 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from JCU to study differences in alkaloid palatability in Central and South American dendrobatid frogs. Sophie was also in charge of caring for the labs captive poison frog colony.
Koary Lutz, B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019
Koary was a Cell and Molecular Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2017 and worked with undergraduate Andrew Britton on two experiments with the dendrobatid frog Dendrobates tinctorius - one to determine if frogs are capable of detecting alkaloid-containing prey and another to determine if frogs exhibit anti predator behaviors in response to simulated predation. He was awarded a Summer 2018 Barrett Award from JCU to study differences in palatability between the green and black poison frog Dendrobates auratus and the red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas.
Andrew Britton, B.S. in Biology, 2018
Andrew was a Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2017 and worked with undergraduate Koary Lutz on two experiments with the dendrobatid frog Dendrobates tinctorius - one to determine if frogs are capable of detecting alkaloid-containing prey and another to determine if frogs exhibit anti predator behaviors in response to simulated predation.
Noemi Becza, B.S. in Biology, 2017
Noemi was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2016 and studied alkaloid defenses in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga granulifera from Costa Rica. She also worked on developing experimental chambers for a study on alkaloid detection in dendrobatid frogs. In Spring 2017, she worked with graduate student Annelise Blanchette to study defensive behaviors of cryptic and aposematic frogs at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Patrick Drockton, B.S. in Biology, 2017
Patrick was a Biology major at JCU, and he joined the lab in Fall 2016. He worked on a project examining some of the physiological stresses associated with alkaloid sequestration in poison frogs, as well as the development of poison glands in Dendrobates auratus.
Matthew Russell, B.S. in Biology, 2016
Matt was a Biology major at JCU, and he joined the lab in Fall 2014. Matt studied the palatability of frog alkaloids to arthropods, and worked on maternal provisioning of alkaloids in poison frogs. During the summer of 2015, he conducted a field project in Costa Rica to examine how brightness in the poison frog Oophaga pumilio is related to boldness behavior. Matt also traveled to Costa Rica with Dr. Saporito after graduation to conduct additional field work on UV-avoidance in leaf-litter frogs.
Emily Seiter, B.S. in Biochemistry, 2016
Emily was a Biochemistry major at JCU. She joined the lab in Summer 2015 after being awarded a Great Lakes Summer Internship, and worked with graduate student Kyle Hovey to study the antimicrobial properties of alkaloids in the dendrobatid poison frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. She also conducted research with graduate student Sarah Bolton to compare methods of frog alkaloid extraction from poison frogs.
Nicole Woodcraft, B.S. in Biology, 2016
Nicki was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2013 and maintained and cared for our fruit fly colonies and poison frogs. She researched the dietary relationship between carotenoid levels and color in bufonid poison frogs, conducted an experiment to understand alkaloid detection in dendrobatid frogs, and worked on a study examining the antimicrobial properties of alkaloids in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica.
Megan Boyk, B.S. in Biology, 2015
Megan was a Biology major at JCU, and she joined the lab in Spring 2014. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she worked on a research project studying the effectiveness of bufonid poison frog alkaloids against the pathogenic soil bacteria Myobacterium tuberculosis.
Nicolas Spies, B.S. in Environmental Science, 2015
Nick was an Environmental Science major at JCU. He joined the lab in Fall 2013 and began working on a project with to quantify color and pattern among populations of the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. He also conducted a survey of different species of leaf-litter ants and beetles from the tropics, in search of dietary sources for alkaloids in poison frogs.
Annemarie Mina, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Annemarie was a Biology major at JCU, and joined the lab in Fall 2013. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she researched the effectiveness of dendrobatid frog alkaloids against common bacterial (Escherichia coli & Bacillus subtilus) and fungal pathogens (Candida albicans).
Daniel Paluh, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Dan was a Biology major at JCU, and joined the lab in Spring 2012, interested in studying aposematism in dendrobatids. During the Summer 2012 he conducted a field-based experiment using mobile clay frog models to gain a better understanding of aposematism in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio in Costa Rica.
Joseph Saffell, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Joe was a Biology major at JCU and joined the lab in Fall 2012. He worked on a project to examine the link between frog size, color, and toxicity. He also worked on a project to identify frog alkaloids in leaf-litter ants collected from Costa Rica.
Yaritbel Torres-Mendoza, B.S. in Biology, 2013
Yari was an undergraduate student in Biology at JCU. She joined the lab in Spring 2010 and began working on a project examining digit ratios in the Red Back Salamander Plethodon cinereus from northeastern Ohio. During Fall 2011, she began working on a collaborative project studying ontogenetic differences in alkaloid composition in dendrobatid poison frogs. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she studied the link between habitat disturbance and alkaloid defense in the frog Oophaga pumilio from Bocas del Toro, Panama.
Ella was an Environmental Science major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2021 and studied N-methylation of dietary piperidine alkaloids in poison frogs of the genus Ranitomeya, described a new defensive behavior in Dendrobates auratus, and worked on a project to characterize alkaloids in oribatid mites from northeast Ohio.
Annabel McQuillan, B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2023
Annabel was a Cellular and Molecular Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Spring 2022 and worked on a project to identify and characterize poison frog alkaloids in ants and mites from Costa Rica.
Mia Zivkovic, B.S. in Biology, 2023
Mia was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2021 and worked on an experiment aimed at better understanding sequestration of tricyclic alkaloids in poison frogs. Mia extracted tricyclic alkaloids from ladybird beetles, and conducted a series of feeding experiments with poison frogs in the genus Ranitomeya.
Kathryn Bacik, B.S. in Biology, 2022
Kathryn was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2019 and assisted with a project studying maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. Kathryn was also been involved in a major update of our labs poison frog alkaloid library. Most recently, she had also begun working on a project aimed at understanding how poison frogs in the genus Ranitomeya use smell to detect alkaloids.
Vincent Del Signore, B.S. in Biology, 2022
Vince was a Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2021 and worked with graduate student Katie Waters on an alkaloid feeding experiment aimed at understanding sequestration of the alkaloid epibatidine among different lineages of dendrobatid poison frogs. Vince also worked on an independent project to identify frog alkaloids in mites and ants from Costa Rica.
Nina Savastano, B.S. in Environmental Science, 2022
Nina was an Environmental Science major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2019 and worked on multiple projects. She researched anti predator behavior in the yellow-striped poison frog, Dendrobates truncatus, and maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in the granulated poison frog Oophaga granulifera. She was also awarded a 2019 Summer Undergraduate Fellowship (SURF) from JCU and studied the distribution of alkaloid defenses in the skin of the green and black poison frog Dendrobates auratus from Costa Rica. Nina also began a new lab project to characterize alkaloids from mites and ants in northeast Ohio. Nina was also in charge of caring for the labs captive poison frog colony
Ashley Brooks, B.S. in Biology, 2020
Ashley was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2017 and was in charge of our tropical frog collection - in particular, she worked to catalogue new specimens and maintain old specimens, and was also responsible for all live frog care. She was awarded a 2018 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from JCU, and studied variation in alkaloid defenses among populations of Oophaga granulifera and Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica.
Sophie Kocheff, B.S. in Biology, 2019
Sophie was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2016 and worked on a project to further understand how differences in the alkaloid defenses of poison frogs are perceived by arthropod predators. She was awarded a 2017 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) from JCU to study differences in alkaloid palatability in Central and South American dendrobatid frogs. Sophie was also in charge of caring for the labs captive poison frog colony.
Koary Lutz, B.S. in Cellular and Molecular Biology, 2019
Koary was a Cell and Molecular Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2017 and worked with undergraduate Andrew Britton on two experiments with the dendrobatid frog Dendrobates tinctorius - one to determine if frogs are capable of detecting alkaloid-containing prey and another to determine if frogs exhibit anti predator behaviors in response to simulated predation. He was awarded a Summer 2018 Barrett Award from JCU to study differences in palatability between the green and black poison frog Dendrobates auratus and the red-eyed tree frog Agalychnis callidryas.
Andrew Britton, B.S. in Biology, 2018
Andrew was a Biology major at JCU. He joined the lab in Spring 2017 and worked with undergraduate Koary Lutz on two experiments with the dendrobatid frog Dendrobates tinctorius - one to determine if frogs are capable of detecting alkaloid-containing prey and another to determine if frogs exhibit anti predator behaviors in response to simulated predation.
Noemi Becza, B.S. in Biology, 2017
Noemi was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2016 and studied alkaloid defenses in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga granulifera from Costa Rica. She also worked on developing experimental chambers for a study on alkaloid detection in dendrobatid frogs. In Spring 2017, she worked with graduate student Annelise Blanchette to study defensive behaviors of cryptic and aposematic frogs at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.
Patrick Drockton, B.S. in Biology, 2017
Patrick was a Biology major at JCU, and he joined the lab in Fall 2016. He worked on a project examining some of the physiological stresses associated with alkaloid sequestration in poison frogs, as well as the development of poison glands in Dendrobates auratus.
Matthew Russell, B.S. in Biology, 2016
Matt was a Biology major at JCU, and he joined the lab in Fall 2014. Matt studied the palatability of frog alkaloids to arthropods, and worked on maternal provisioning of alkaloids in poison frogs. During the summer of 2015, he conducted a field project in Costa Rica to examine how brightness in the poison frog Oophaga pumilio is related to boldness behavior. Matt also traveled to Costa Rica with Dr. Saporito after graduation to conduct additional field work on UV-avoidance in leaf-litter frogs.
Emily Seiter, B.S. in Biochemistry, 2016
Emily was a Biochemistry major at JCU. She joined the lab in Summer 2015 after being awarded a Great Lakes Summer Internship, and worked with graduate student Kyle Hovey to study the antimicrobial properties of alkaloids in the dendrobatid poison frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. She also conducted research with graduate student Sarah Bolton to compare methods of frog alkaloid extraction from poison frogs.
Nicole Woodcraft, B.S. in Biology, 2016
Nicki was a Biology major at JCU. She joined the lab in Fall 2013 and maintained and cared for our fruit fly colonies and poison frogs. She researched the dietary relationship between carotenoid levels and color in bufonid poison frogs, conducted an experiment to understand alkaloid detection in dendrobatid frogs, and worked on a study examining the antimicrobial properties of alkaloids in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica.
Megan Boyk, B.S. in Biology, 2015
Megan was a Biology major at JCU, and she joined the lab in Spring 2014. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she worked on a research project studying the effectiveness of bufonid poison frog alkaloids against the pathogenic soil bacteria Myobacterium tuberculosis.
Nicolas Spies, B.S. in Environmental Science, 2015
Nick was an Environmental Science major at JCU. He joined the lab in Fall 2013 and began working on a project with to quantify color and pattern among populations of the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Costa Rica. He also conducted a survey of different species of leaf-litter ants and beetles from the tropics, in search of dietary sources for alkaloids in poison frogs.
Annemarie Mina, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Annemarie was a Biology major at JCU, and joined the lab in Fall 2013. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she researched the effectiveness of dendrobatid frog alkaloids against common bacterial (Escherichia coli & Bacillus subtilus) and fungal pathogens (Candida albicans).
Daniel Paluh, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Dan was a Biology major at JCU, and joined the lab in Spring 2012, interested in studying aposematism in dendrobatids. During the Summer 2012 he conducted a field-based experiment using mobile clay frog models to gain a better understanding of aposematism in the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio in Costa Rica.
Joseph Saffell, B.S. in Biology, 2014
Joe was a Biology major at JCU and joined the lab in Fall 2012. He worked on a project to examine the link between frog size, color, and toxicity. He also worked on a project to identify frog alkaloids in leaf-litter ants collected from Costa Rica.
Yaritbel Torres-Mendoza, B.S. in Biology, 2013
Yari was an undergraduate student in Biology at JCU. She joined the lab in Spring 2010 and began working on a project examining digit ratios in the Red Back Salamander Plethodon cinereus from northeastern Ohio. During Fall 2011, she began working on a collaborative project studying ontogenetic differences in alkaloid composition in dendrobatid poison frogs. For her Honor's Thesis in Biology, she studied the link between habitat disturbance and alkaloid defense in the frog Oophaga pumilio from Bocas del Toro, Panama.