adventures in china

My girlfriend suggested I start a blog while in China this summer. What a good idea! Please, don’t hesitate to comment on anything, it will help me stay sane here.

Below is the abstract of my project, but there are also others I’m working on as a field assistant.

Abstract
Political and socio-economic policies have accelerated the rate of land use change in the frog diversity hotspot Xishuangbanna, China. Little is known about the habitat requirements of the frog species of Xishuangbanna, making it difficult to predict how they will fare against this habitat alteration. Studies of frog habitat requirements, such as breeding habitat, are badly needed here. Frog species that breed in temporary pools of water should favor breeding sites that present a low risk to offspring. Competition presents a threat to tadpoles by reducing their growth. My research will investigate the strength of competition within and between three common tadpole species. I will couple information gained from these experiments with field survey results to determine how the strength of competition within and between tadpole species affects where adults choose to breed.