Integrative Biology

UWindsor biological sciences PhD student Katrina Switzer is working with 3D-printed yellow toads in the forests of Costa Rica to see how females choose among similarly coloured males.UWindsor biological sciences PhD student Katrina Switzer is working with 3D-printed yellow toads in the forests of Costa Rica to see how females choose among similarly coloured males.

Researchers use 3D printed toads in the wild

When the rains eventually blanket northwest Costa Rica, ushering in the country’s wet season, a booming chorus of yellow toads will fill the tropical forest.

And the moment that rain starts to fall, UWindsor’s Katrina Switzer will race to a pond in Santa Rosa National Park where she’ll match 3D printed “Robotoads” with unsuspecting mates.

“The Neotropical Yellow Toads have a large breeding event that really only happens once a year during the first massive rainfall,” Switzer explained, adding the rain usually starts falling in the middle of the night.

University of Windsor professors Phillip Karpowicz and Christina Semeniuk received the Early Researcher Awards from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.University of Windsor professors Phillip Karpowicz and Christina Semeniuk received the Early Researcher Awards from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.

Science professors honoured with Early Researcher Awards

Two University of Windsor professors are among this year's recipients of the Early Researcher Awards, a provincial program that helps institutions build research teams.

Biology professor Phillip Karpowicz and Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research professor Christina Semeniuk were both awarded $150,000 over five years from the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Science.

Nigel HusseyUWindsor researcher Nigel Hussey spoke to The Society for Marine Mammalogy about advancing an ecosystem field approach to understand and manage aquatic predators during its 22nd Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Halifax on Thursday, October 26.

Researcher makes waves at marine mammal conference

UWindsor researcher Nigel Hussey gave an address at the biennial conference of the Society for Marine Mammalogy.