The sense of smell as a modulator of feeding behavior during developmental transitions in poison frogs

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ivan Manzini
• Subject Area: Sensory and Behavioural Biology ; Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 551532378

Both sensory and metabolic processes control feeding behavior. Although olfactory information clearly helps most animals to coordinate food evaluation and selection, the cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for integrating chemosensory information and modulating feeding behaviors remain poorly understood for most taxa. The life history of many anuran species involves a change in feeding ecology. Larvae of poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) show an impressive variety of complex behaviors, such as aggression leading to cannibalism, sequestration of diet-based chemical defenses, and begging for egg meals from their parents. Behavioral studies suggest that chemical cues play an important role in these behaviors, but anatomical and neurophysiological investigations on this topic are mostly missing. In our collaborative approach we will combine expertise in behavioral ecology/ biochemistry (Costa Rican group) and neurophysiology/ anatomy (German group) to fill this gap of knowledge. Our multidisciplinary study will explore the cellular anatomy of the olfactory system of the larvae of two poison frog species, Oophaga pumilio and Dendrobates auratus. We will conduct behavioral assays to determine food preferences and developmental stages at which shifts in feeding preferences occur. Food items will be subjected to chemical analysis using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify peptide-based odorants or other chemical cues. This will provide the basis for functional experiments investigating odor-induced cellular activity and the processing of olfactory information in the olfactory epithelium and the olfactory bulb of larval poison frogs. Together, the results will provide new insights into the mechanisms that underlie complex olfactory-mediated behaviors in frogs in an ecologically relevant framework.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Costa Rica
• Partner Organisation: Consejo Nacional de Rectores
• Cooperation Partner: Professorin Dr. Jennifer Stynoski