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Foster tadpoles ‘trigger parental instinct in poison frogs’
Poison frogs - especially males - are very caring parents.

Study shows external stimulus can trigger complex behaviour

Scientists have revealed that external stimuli can trigger complex behaviours such as parental care in amphibians.

The collaborative research by Vetmeduni Vienna, the University of Vienna and Harvard University assessed the parental behaviour of poison frogs in the Les Nouragues Nature Reserve, French Guiana.

Poison frogs - especially males - are very caring parents. After their offspring hatch, the males carry their tadpoles on their backs to distant pools spread around the rainforest where they can feed and develop.  

In the study, researchers set out to see if this parental behaviour could be triggered experimentally. The team placed foster tadpoles on the backs of male and female frogs, which were fitted with miniature tracking devices.

They found that when unrelated tadpoles are placed on the backs of adult frogs, male - and even female - ‘foster parents’ make their way to pools in the forest in the same way as if they had picked up the tadpoles themselves.

“We wanted to know if foster tadpoles were also transported to the pools,” explained Andrius Pašukonis of the University of Vienna. “The results show that the tadpoles do not have to be picked up, but that contact with the backs of the adult frogs was enough to trigger the transport.”

“We observed that all tested frogs, both males and families, transported the experimentally placed tadpoles to pools,” added Eva Ringler of the Vetmeduni Vienna’s Messerli research Institute.

The study showed that parental care instinct in these frogs can be triggered by placing tadpoles on the backs of adults, no matter if they are natural or adopted. But researchers were unable to clearly identify the mechanism that triggers such behaviour.

“We suspect that tactile stimuli, certain touching or movement patterns by the tadpoles, play a role,” Pašukonis continued. “These findings are interesting, as they show how one stimulus can trigger such complex behaviour. The adult poison frogs don’t just march off; the touching also stimulates memories of distant pool locations in the forest.” 

Induced parental care in a poison frog: a tadpole cross-fostering experiment is published in the Journal of Experimental Biology.

Image (C) Quarti/Wikimedia Commons.

 

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.