Science

I am currently a PhD researcher based at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (in Bibiana Rojas‘ group which has since moved to the KLIVV, Vienna, Austria).

My doctoral work has focused on the evolutionary ecology of poison frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) in a system characterised by intensive parental care and larval cannibalism (. . . yes, these two behaviours often seem at odds with each other, but that’s what makes it fun!). Specifically, my thesis considers how both (1) the behavioural plasticity of tadpoles and (2) the adaptive value of individual decision-making impacts the survival and success of larvae that must manage “risky” encounters/environments. The threats faced by the larval stages of poison frogs range from environmental stress (i.e., habitat instability, food-limited environments) to predation (including both cons- and heterospecifics) and infection; left by their parents to develop in microhabitats that can disappear within a sunny afternoon, D. tinctorius tadpoles have evolved an arsenal of adaptations to overcome a world where the odds of survival seems stacked against them.