Unit 6 Video: The Frog Licker

Narrator: Off the southeastern coast of Africa lies the island of Madagascar.
Madagascar is known for its wide-eyed lemurs, but it also has one of the
world’s most colorful amphibians—the Mantella poison frog.

Poison frogs aren’t born poisonous. Instead, they are proof of the old saying:
“You are what you eat.” Their toxins are actually a side effect of their diet,
which is made up of ants, millipedes, and mites. But which insects,
specifically? And will the loss of these insects endanger the frogs?

Meet scientist Valerie C. Clark. Valerie encounters Mantella betsileo, a very

widespread species of poison frog. This one appears to be carrying eggs.

Valerie Clark: How do I know? Because it’s just very, very fat, and this is the season for
love.

Narrator: Clark and her colleagues use GPS data to record the frog’s location, and
other useful information.

Clark: We’re right at sea level.

Narrator: They also need to collect as many insects as possible to try to track down
exactly what these frogs are eating. First, Valerie’s team chops up the
leaves, then puts them into mesh bags—ones that have lots of little holes.
They hang the bags up inside another bag, with a little plastic bag filled with
alcohol attached to the bottom. As the soil dries out inside the mesh bag,
the insects escape to find water and fall out. These become their samples.

How do you test the toxins in a frog’s skin? There are a couple of methods.
One way is to wipe their backs with tissue soaked in alcohol. But another
way is what Clark calls the “quick lick” taste test.

Clark: Well, let’s see. Oh, it’s definitely bitter.

Narrator: Bitterness equals toxic. It seems like a risky thing to do, but Mantella are
only mildly toxic to humans. They are brightly colored to warn predators to
stay away.

These toxins in the frogs’ skin may be harmful to other animals, but may be
very valuable to humans. They could be an important contribution to
medical science, providing pain relief and cures for diseases.

Clark: By sampling frogs for their toxic chemicals, we’re effectively taking a
shortcut to the many, many chemicals that exist in countless insects in the
rain forest.

Narrator: Back in the village, the results look promising.

Clark: Oh! Here we go! I’m very excited about these samples. This is certainly
making up the great portion of the Mantella diet and has great potential to
end up being some of the sources of their chemicals.
Narrator: The frogs need to eat many types of insects for their toxins to work. The
bigger the forest, the more insects to choose from. If we start cutting down
rain forest and affecting the ecosystem, it reduces our chances of finding
new drug cures.

Clark: So the more primary forest that we have, the better chance we have of
finding new drug leads.

Narrator: Near the end of her journey, Clark has collected 500 tubes of insects. These
could lead her to some sources of the frogs’ toxins.

The message is clear. In order to save the poison frogs of Madagascar,

people will have to save the rain forest with its amazing diversity of insects.