Research in the making:

General Overview:

Great Plains toads, or Anaxyrus cognatus (formerly Bufo cognatus), are the most common toads in the arid southwest. A. cognatus use wetlands for breeding and development, and can reside in the surrounding uplands (where agriculture is more prevalent) following metamorphosis. Consequently, the toads could be exposed to pesticides due to the treatment of crops in surrounding agricultural areas. Because toads rely on visual stimuli for prey capture, I propose to characterize how Organophosphate insecticides affect the ability of A. cognatus to orient toward their prey.

Main Experimental Objectives:

Objective 1: Characterizing orientation toward a simulated prey item in A.cognatus

Objective 2: Investigating the effects of OP insecticide on orientations towards

a prey item

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What I will be looking at:

- Repeatability of response

- Recovery Ability after exposure

- Simple effects on orientations

- Age/Sex Differences

- Endurance rates

- Neurological effects