BIOLOGY
BBC News (London, March 5) – Poison dart frogs appear to make a dancing movement with their back toes, not unlike tap dancing. Illinois researchers discovered the frogs tapped far more when food was present and that the number of taps depended on what type of surface the frog was sitting on. Scientists now believe this is because a surface like leaves carries vibrations much better. “Frogs can only really forage when prey is alive and moving,” says Eva Fischer, a professor of integrative biology at the U. of I. “So maybe this tapping could be vibrationally startling the flies and making them move.”
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