Dr. Courtney Whitcher
Postdoctoral Researcher
My current research focuses on the evolution of biofluorescence in frogs. I also designed and developed the citizen science and educational resource Finding Fluorescence.
Research Gate profile: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Courtney-Whitcher
Research Interests
I am broadly interested in the micro and macroevolutionary processes driving trait variation and evolution.
My current project focuses on the evolution of biofluorescence in treefrogs. With its recent discovery in amphibians and unique manipulation of environmental signals, frog biofluorescence offers a novel and exciting system in which to study trait evolution. My research examines the function, mechanism, and evolution of this novel trait.
Featured
Publications
Whitcher, C., Ron, S. R., Ayala-Varela, F., Crawford, A. J., Herrera-Alva, V., Castillo-Urbina, E. F., Grazziotin, F., Bowman, R. M., Lemmon, A. R., & Lemmon, E. M. (2024). Evidence for ecological tuning of anuran biofluorescent signals. Nature Communications. 15(1), 8884. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53111-w
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Whitcher C, Beaver L, Lemmon EM. The effect of biofluorescence on predation upon Cope's gray treefrog: A clay model experiment. Behavioural Processes. 2024 Jan 24;215:104996. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2024.104996.
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Whitcher, C., Dill-Orrico, V., Ron, S., Grant, T., Faivovich, J., Lemmon, A., Lemmon, E. (MS). Phylogenetics, biogeography, and life history evolution in the tropical treefrog genus Dendropsophus. In Review, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.
Burke, H.*, Serano, L.*, Lemmon, E., Whitcher, C. Assessing the effectiveness of the Finding Fluorescence citizen science resource. In revision. Preprint: BioRxiv, 2024.04.24.590905v1 https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2024.04.24.590905v1
Whitcher C. 2020. New Accounts of Biofluorescence in Several Anuran Genera (Hylidae, Microhylidae, Ranidae, Leptodactylidae) with Comments on Intraspecific Variation. Herpetology Notes 13: 443-447.
Makowicz AM, Daniel MJ, Jones BC, Rivers PR, Dye M, Kuzel MR, Guerrera AG, Kettelkamp S, Whitcher C, DuVal EH. 2020. Foundations and frontiers in mate choice. Evolution. doi:10.1111/evo.14018
Santa-Cruz, R, von May, R., Catenazzi, A., Whitcher, C., Lopez Tejeda, E., Rabosky, D. 2019. “A New Species of Terrestrial-Breeding Frog (Amphibia, Strabomantidae, Noblella) from the Upper Madre De Dios Watershed, Amazonian Andes and Lowlands of Southern Peru.” Diversity 11(9): 145.
Outreach
I designed and developed the citizen science and educational resource: Finding Fluorescence. Finding Fluorescence is a resource to teach about biofluorescence, get people involved in and excited about making discoveries, and to document the presence or absence of biofluorescence in the vast number of species across the world, in a format accessible to scientists of all fields.
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These materials are currently available in both English and Spanish.