Ralph A. Saporito

Assistant Professor, Department of Biology

Telephone: 216-397-4492
Email: rsaporito@jcu.edu
Office: Dolan W 211
Research Lab: Dolan W 110
Research Website

B.S. in Biology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida.
Ph.D. in Biology, Florida International University, Miami, Florida.
NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Research Interests

My research is broadly focused on the ecology and evolution of antipredator adaptations in animals, particularly chemical defenses and aposematism. I am especially interested in studying these defensive adaptations in vertebrates (mainly amphibians and reptiles) that acquire chemical defenses from their diet. Most of my research surrounds the study of brightly colored poison frogs and the arthropod prey from which they sequester alkaloid-based chemical defenses. My research program is highly integrative, involves a variety of comparative and experimental approaches (both field- and lab-based), and incorporates aspects of ecology, evolution, behavior, morphology, natural history, and frog and arthropod chemistry.

Recent Courses

BL 230/231 – Human Anatomy & Physiology
BL 156 – Principles of Biology II
BL 159 - Principles of Biology III
BL 406 - Tropical Field Biology

Selected Publications

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Spande, T.F., and Garraffo, H.M. (2011) A review of chemical ecology in poison frogs. Chemoecology, in press.

Hegna, R.H., Saporito, R.A., and Donnelly, M.A. (2011) Contrasting colors of an aposematic poison frog do not affect predation. Annales Zoologici Fennici, 48: 29-38.

Saporito, R.A., Norton, R.A., Andriamaharavo, N.R., Garraffo, H.M., and Spande, T.F. (2011) Alkaloids in the mite Scheloribates laevigatus: Further alkaloids common to oribatid mites and poison frogs. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 37(2):213-218.

Saporito, R.A., Isola, M., Maccachero, V.C., Condon, K.W., and Donnelly, M.A. (2010) Ontogenetic scaling of poison glands in a dendrobatid poison frog. Journal of Zoology 282(2010): 238-245.

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Madden, A.A., Garraffo, H.M., and Spande, T.F. (2010) Sex-related differences in alkaloid defenses of the dendrobatid frog Oophaga pumilio from Cayo Nancy, Bocas del Toro, Panama. Journal of Natural Products 73(3):317-321.

Andriamaharavo, N.R., Garraffo, H.M., Saporito, R.A., Daly, J.W., Razafindrakotos, C.R., Andriantsiferana, and Spande, T.F. (2010) Roughing it: A mantellid poison frog shows greater alkaloid diversity in some disturbed habitats. Journal of Natural Products 73(3): 322-330.

Daly, J.W., Ware, N., Saporito, R.A., Spande, T.F., and Garraffo, H.M. (2009) N-Methyldecahydroquinolines: An unexpected class of alkaloid from Amazonian poison frogs (Dendrobatidae). Journal of Natural Products 72(6): 1110-1114.

Saporito, R.A., Spande, T.F., Garraffo, H.M., and Donnelly, M.A. (2009) Arthropod alkaloids in poison frogs: A review of the ‘dietary hypothesis’. Heterocycles 79(1): 277-297.

Daly, J.W., Garraffo, H.M., Spande, T.F., Giddings, L.A., Saporito, R.A., Vieites, D.R., and Vences, M. (2008) Geographic variation of skin alkaloids among individuals of three species of Madagascan poison frogs (Mantella). Journal of Chemical Ecology 34(2): 252-279.

Saporito, R.A., Zuercher, R., Roberts, M., Gerrow, K.G. and Donnelly, M.A. (2007) Experimental evidence for aposematism in the poison frog Oophaga pumilio. Copeia 4: 1006-1011.

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Jain, P., Garraffo, H.M., Spande, T.F., and Daly, J.W. (2007) Spatial and temporal patterns of alkaloid variation in the poison frog Oophaga pumilio in Costa Rica and Panama over 30 years. Toxicon 50(6): 757-778.

Saporito, R.A. (2007) Gymnopis multiplicata (Purple Caecilian), Micrurus mipartitus (Many-banded Coral Snake). Predator prey interactions. Herpetological Review 38(2): 199.

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Norton, R., Garraffo, H.M., Spande, T.F., and Daly, J.W. (2007) Oribatid mites as a new and significant source of alkaloids in poison frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(21): 8885-8890.

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Garraffo, H.M., Spande, T.F. and Daly, J.W. (2006) Geographic and seasonal variation in alkaloid-based chemical defenses of Dendrobates pumilio from Bocas del Toro, Panama. Journal of Chemical Ecology 32(4): 795-814.

Saporito, R.A., Garraffo, H.M., Donnelly, M.A., Edwards, A.L., Longino, J. T., and Daly, J.W. (2004) Formicine ants: An arthropod source for the pumiliotoxin alkaloids of dendrobatid frogs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 101(21): 8045-8050.

Saporito, R.A., Donnelly, M.A., Hoffman, R.L., Garraffo, H.M., and Daly, J.W. (2003) A siphonotid millipede (Rhinotus) as the source for the spiropyrrolizidine oximes of dendrobatid frogs. Journal of Chemical Ecology 9(12): 2781-2786.

Links

• American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (ASIH)
  
• Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR)
• Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)
• International Society of Chemical Ecology
• Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS)
• Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)