Listening for Frogs in Guyana

Picture a night out at the bar after a heavy rain. Having just been out for a meal, the available males are well sated. They peer over the second-story railing at the females milling about below. One by one, they begin to click. Some emit multi-toned clicks; others make single, clear notes. Some are low and barely audible. The females below know that the males are ready for action. The mating ritual of some species of poison frogs seems so much less complicated than those of homo sapiens. Or, if not less complicated, then at least less stinking of Axe body spray. The Bell Museum presents a new series of lectures called "Adventure Science," where local scientists introduce their research in different corners of the world, from Papua New Guinea to South Africa. The next talk features Beth Pettitt, who studies communication in frogs in Guyana, a country that is still 80 percent forest. Perhaps frog communication can lend some insight into human communication, or at least make someone reconsider whether or not to spray that Axe.
Sun., Feb. 17, 2 p.m., 2008