Ph.D. candidate, Javier Méndez Narváez, from the Warkentin lab has received a Graduate Research Abroad Fellowship (GRAF) and a Thomas H. Kunz Award to support his research in Gamboa, Panama this summer. With these funds, Javier will be able to build on his previous eco-physiological experiments in Gamboa ( 2016-2018, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute). His research is focused on determining if nitrogen excretion plasticity and its biochemical regulation occurs, as a response to dehydration risk during early development, in neotropical frog lineages that evolved terrestrial egg-laying.
Figures: Experimentally induced non-lethal dehydration risk in (A) terrestrial foam-dwelling tadpoles (Leptodactylus fragilis), under extended developmental time in a foam (build by tadpoles) in land and (B) terrestrial glass-frog’s embryos prevented from parental brooding (Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni).
The Thomas H. Kunz award provides support for Ecology, Behavior & Evolution (EBE) Ph.D. candidates who have completed the qualifying exam, with a preference for those conducting field research in the award year. The award was established in 2015 in recognition and appreciation of Professor Thomas H. Kunz’s mentorship. His current and former graduate students established this award to serve as a lasting legacy of Tom’s contributions at BU and beyond. Learn more about Dr. Kunz and how you can support this award.