TADPOLE is a US-based non-profit research organization dedicated to informing and educating the public about the Amazon’s amphibian species. Shawn McCracken is Executive Director of TADPOLE and a Ph.D. candidate at Texas State University. His previous and ongoing research focuses on the systematics, ecology and distribution of Brachycephalid frogs in Amazonia. Bejat McCracken is a professional photographer with TADPOLE and has over 9 years’ experience documenting amphibians and reptiles. She also spends considerable time painting rain forest subjects with a macro perspective while accompanying Shawn in the field.TADPOLE established TBS as its initial long-term research site in 2001 because of its incredible amphibian diversity and pristine forest condition. TADPOLE researchers led by Shawn have returned to the station at least every other year for three to five months of field work. They have conducted nearly 300 quadrat surveys and 110 canopy bromeliad samples during work at TBS, with over 140 species of herpetofauna documented. The canopy bromeliad research has resulted in two new species descriptions, Eleutherodactylus (Pristimantis) aureolineatus (Guayasamin et al. 2006) and Eleutherodactylus (Pristimantis) waoranii (McCracken et al. 2007). Several other publications have resulted from this work, including the first documentation of amphibian geophagy (McCracken and Forstner 2006).Shawn is now conducting his dissertation project field work at TBS which is supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. His project, titled Environmental quality effects and the ecological context of vertically stratified rainforest canopy fauna, will be conducted at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station – USFQ, Yasuni Research Station – PUCE and the along the Via Auca in Eastern Ecuador. The following is the project abstract:Canopy strata of tropical forests are one of the remaining unexplored biotic frontiers. New access techniques to the canopy have facilitated an increased investigation on the ecology of forest canopies and their function in tropical ecosystems. As the interface between the terrestrial environment and atmosphere the canopy and its inhabitants are integral to ecosystem function and maintenance. Epiphytes, tank bromeliads in particular, provide microhabitat for a high diversity of fauna and flora in tropical forest canopies and are considered a “keystone resource”. A number of amphibians inhabit these phytotelmata yet their ecological role in forest canopies remains primarily unknown, while knowledge of arthropods has increased significantly in recent years. Anthropogenic perturbations are rapidly altering the landscape of the Ecuadorian Amazon and along with it the species diversity, forest dynamics, and ecosystem functions. The proposed study will investigate the symbiotic relationship of tank bromeliads and their inhabitants, influence of management regimes on this relationship, impact of human disturbance on their status in the ecosystem and the phylogenetic divergence of terrestrial and canopy dwelling amphibian congeners. Resulting data provide science-based support to promote social responsibility and conservation efforts throughout Amazonia.Shawn and his assistants will be climbing 14 trees at each site to remove five tank bromeliads of the species Aechmea zebrina, and then collecting all herpetofauna and arthropods for analysis. Molecular work for the project will be conducted by Shawn at Texas State University in the laboratory of Dr. Michael R. J. Forstner.More information about TADPOLE, Shawn or Bejat can be found at the following websites: