Research on Frog Biofluorescence: Insights, Findings, and Communication in Frog Species

Jakarta –

Research on the light produced by animals is an interesting topic. Especially when found animal species, such as frogs that can emit a different light.

In 2017, a study involving hundreds of frogs in South America revealed the interesting fact that frogs with biofluorescence abilities are far greater than previously thought. At that time, researchers still didn’t know how many frog species might emit this fluorescence.

The researchers have released their findings in a preprint article published July 28 on the bioRxiv.org website. The results of this study indicate that biofluorescence color may have an important role in communication between frog individuals within the same species.

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Since that year’s study, researchers have tested a wider variety of amphibians to assess for fluorescence. So far, however, investigations into frog biofluorescence have used only one or two types of light sources, usually in the form of violet or ultraviolet light.

This biofluorescence phenomenon occurs when an organism absorbs light at a certain wavelength, then re-emit it at a different wavelength, often with a lower energy. Over the past few years, researchers have observed the presence of biofluorescence in various species, even the platypus, for example.

To get a more comprehensive picture of biofluorescence in frogs, Courtney Whitcher and her team from Florida State University at Tallahassee conducted experiments using five different types of light sources, covering the wavelength range from green to ultraviolet.

From March to May 2022, the research team caught and observed 528 frogs in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. They measured the intensity of light emitted by each individual frog.

During ten weeks of field data collection, the researchers performed biofluorescence measurements on members of a salamander family, a cecilian family, and 13 toad families.

Estimated to Communicate

The study increased the percentage of frog families tested for biofluorescence from 8%, and from 0.55% to 1.98%.

Frogs that have strong fluorescence, particularly in green and orange, tend to give off this glow when blue light predominates at dusk. It bears a resemblance to a salamander which also glows under a blue light.

Fluorescence on the strongly fluorescent parts of the frog’s body may play an important role in communication between frogs. Most of the fluorescence focused on the throat and underside of frogs, which are commonly used in mating rituals.

“When they sing, this area of ​​the vocal sac expands and contracts,” Whitcher explained, as quoted by Science News. This fluorescence might help increase their visibility.

This research also shows that the green light emitted may be visible to other frogs, especially at dusk which is a common time for frogs to interact and mate. Conversely, orange fluorescence may serve a different purpose, such as signaling predators or serving as camouflage.

Research Process

In addition, in order to evaluate a number of important criteria, the researcher conducted a series of analyzes on the collected data. The aim of this research is to understand more about fluorescence in living organisms and to ensure the validity of the findings obtained.

Researchers evaluated the excitation wavelengths that trigger the fluorescence and compared them to the predominant light wavelengths in the twilight environment. Residues from individual results were treated with the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test and the Pairwise Dunn test with Holm adjustment. The data show that the percentage of biofluorescence emission differs depending on the excitation light source.

Fluorescence contrast with the background is also evaluated by examining whether the wavelength of the fluorescent emission produced by blue light creates a good contrast with the predominant wavelength in the twilight environment. Researchers used the Kruskal-Wallis analysis and the Pairwise Dunn test to determine differences in the wavelengths of the biofluorescence emission.

Then, the suitability with the spectral sensitivity of the organism was also assessed by checking whether the wavelength of the fluorescent emission due to blue light matched the spectral sensitivity of the organism. A similar statistical analysis was applied to a randomized test to evaluate this concordance.

The researchers’ findings indicate that there is a relationship between the excitation wavelength and the emission wavelength of the fluorescent. In addition, the researchers found that the emission wavelengths produced by blue light matched the spectral sensitivity of organisms at certain wavelengths.

These results provide important insights into how organisms respond to light in their natural environment. These findings may also open doors for further research and promote a deeper understanding of organisms’ interactions with their environment.

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2023-08-25 03:00:05
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