Welcome

Modified from https://sammykatta.com/diversity, with frogs by Julie Jung. Racial justice and support for marginalized communities cannot be separated from the practice of science. We must actively work to recognize the obstacles that scientists (and potential scientists) from marginalized communities face, and dismantle structures of power that prevent them from succeeding. We must also consider the effects of our research and research choices on marginalized communities.

We study phenotypic plasticity, early life stages, the integrative organismal biology of amphibians, and predator-prey interactions. We ground our studies in field observations of animals in their natural environment and use a variety of field and laboratory methods to address the questions arising from those observations. Our work integrates behavior and development with ecology, evolution, and physiology. We are particularly interested in hatching as a critical transition point where rapidly changing animals move between very different selective environments. Our live-animal work is Neotropical, with field sites in several countries and a long-term research program (since 1998) at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.

We often mentor summer internships studying phenotypic plasticity and embryo behavior in Panama. We are not seeking new PhD students in the current round of applications. Prospective PhD students with a strong interest in joining the lab in future years are welcome to contact Prof. Warkentin after viewing the linked information.