Dr. Rebecca (Becca) Tarvin

@rdtarvin.bsky.social

2395 Followers 1139 Following

Evolutionary biologist; Asst Prof @ UC Berkeley IntBio, MVZ Herp Curator; chem ecology, molecular/tropical biology, art, politics, frogs. Posts mine.

223 W Hancock St, Athens, GA
rana boylii: Shy guy, looking to start a large family, likes singing in groups but is quiet on my own. Must love water and the outdoors, rock climbing. Fashionistas preferred
Oophaga sylvatica: Poisonous but charming. I’m a vibrant Oophaga sylvatica—jungle-born, rain-soaked, and dangerously cute. I wear my heart (and toxins) on my skin. Looking for a mate who’s bold, bright, and not afraid of a little risk. Bonus points if you love leaf litter and long hops on the forest floor.
icon for pretend dating app called SlimeMates. cartoon frog with heart-shaped pupils smiling at you. coral pink background
Why newts are cool and you should go see them
four images of the front, top, and side a small globular frog with large black and alien-like eyes, smooth purple-brown body in the shape of a turtle
Large frog hovering over water, it has lights across its body as if it’s part machine
Here's how we incorporated new knowledge to embed climate & EJ into nature policies Put nature on the economic balance sheet: Natural Capital Accounting* Include nature's benefits in federal Benefit-Cost Analysis: OMB Circular A-4 and A-94 now include ecosystem services** Recognize the importance of natural security: for the first time ever, the National Security Strategy (2022) includes biodiversity, climate change, and polar regions***
BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) The 3 challenges of climate change, loss of biodiversity & inequity/inequality are intimately interconnected. 2. Integrating their solutions is quite feasible & delivers more effective outcomes than dealing with each challenge separately. 3. Significant progress in achieving this integration over the last 4 years provides proof of concept, a roadmap, & timely opportunities for governments, the private sector and society.
Person holding a salamander
an image of a list of news outlets carrying the story
Blue background with two green towers with black rectangles inside each
Poster for Life of PI movie with tiger and boy on a boat in the ocean
Anne holding two cylindrical containers holding salamander specimens wrapped in moist paper towels
Plate showing image of heron surrounded by frogs. On right a poem titled the frogs who asked for a king
Remains of a fallen pigeon egg on ground
An alley way covered in graffiti with the word “farts” written in different colors
Two poison frogs, on the left a larger one with a green -golden stripe and on the right a smaller one with white stripe and light brown coloration
Epipedobates tricolor, the tricolor poison frog, is a small poison frog that is brownish-black with yellow-green stripes. Here it is sitting under a rock ready to call for mates
Epipedobates tricolor in the lab
Our dataset of alkaloid diversity and relative quantity as well as diet data by individual for 27 poison frog species and 3 other frog species. Quantity and diversity is lower for undefended (cryptically colored) poison frogs. We call this phenotype passive accumulation. Most species eat a diet of >=40% mites and ants suggesting they all consume some amount of toxins
A schematic fig showing hypothetical relationships among major processes involved in transition from undefended to defended phenotypes: 1) toxin intake; 2) toxin elimination rate (Elim Rate); 3) toxin sequestration rate (Seq Rate), i.e., the active transport of toxins for storage in a specific location; 4) toxin accumulation rate (Acc Rate). We hyp that “no accumulation” is characterized by no ability to sequester toxins + high elim rate —> 0 accumulation (solid grey line). we hyp that “passive accumulation” is characterized by lower elim rates than no acc, leading to a low amount of toxin acc; some toxin transport could also exist, where a low seq rate could result in passive acc when elim rate is high (dashed yellow line). We hyp that “active sequestration” evolves from an intermediate passive acc w/ novel seq mechanisms that result in high seq rates (solid purple line). However, elim rates modulate toxins acc, with lower elim rates —> higher prop of toxin acc (dashed purple line).
Two juvenile blue poison frogs (Dendrobates tinctorius) sitting in a terraria facing the camera
Two newts of different species living in the same pond (“sympatric species”) wearing bishops garb
Many people wearing frog eye headbands
Key Differences between Safety I and Safety Il Safety I - Traditional Safety Safety is an accountability "up" (from front-line up to management) People cause safety problems Leadership should tell workers what to do Safety is the absence of accidents / injuries We should focus on what goes wrong Safety Il - Safety Differently Safety is a responsibility "down" (from management to front-line) People are a solution to safety problems Leadership should ask workers what they need Safety is the presence of capacities We should understand why things go right
View of the bodega dunes in the morning
White cat curled up sleeping
Valentine day card depicting Baby Yoda with a frog in its arms
02/12/2024 listed for $5000/month rent 06/20/2003 sold for $485,000 12/27/2002 sold for $315,000 08/02/1999 sold for $84,500
Tiny brown salamander curled up in a ring
Mushroom point of view, when viewing other mushrooms
A birds nest fungi (Crucibulum laeve). The “eggs” are wax covered spore containers that are dispersed when rain drops hit the cup and displace them. Theyay be further dispersed by herbivores that eat the eggs. Laeve is Latin meaning smooth