With Good Reason

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Female tree frogs use complex information processing when listening to the mating calls of male frogs to select their mates.  Kit Murphy (James Madison University) is discovering how females make their choices and may be close to answering the age old question, “Why is she with him?”  Also featured: Between 33 and 50 percent of the world’s frog species are disappearing from seemingly pristine areas, and a deadly fungus is getting part of the blame.  Reid Harris and Kevin Minbiole (James Madison University) are conducting pioneering research on a naturally-occurring protective bacteria on the skin of frogs that may repel the fungus.