- Title Professor of Biology; Professor of Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies
- Education PhD, University of Texas at Austin
- Web Address http://sites.bu.edu/warkentinlab/
- Email kwarken@bu.edu
- Phone 617-358-2385
- Area of Interest phenotypic plasticity; integrative and comparative biology; adaptive embryo behavior; hatching as a life history transition; substrate vibration as an information channel; herpetology; tropical biology; sex, gender and sexuality; diversity and inclusion as imperatives for scientific progress
- CV
Current Research
Most of the research in the Warkentin lab examines developing organisms in ecological and evolutionary context. We focus on hatching as a critical life history transition, working with embryos that adaptively alter when they exit the egg capsule in response to cues of risk and opportunity. We integrate approaches from behavior, ecology, physiology, and developmental and evolutionary biology to better understand embryos, and use embryos to address general questions in animal behavior. We combine biology and mechanical engineering to design devices enabling new kinds of experiments in embryo behavior.
We work in the Neotropics on red-eyed treefrogs, hourglass treefrogs, and glassfrogs –representing three lineages of frogs that independently evolved arboreal eggs and retained aquatic tadpoles – and on foam-nesting frogs that vary in the terrestriality of their eggs. Our work addresses ecology, evolution, and mechanisms of plasticity, interactions of embryos with predators and parents, and developmental changes in embryo behavior.
Prof. Warkentin is also working toward a better understanding of sexual diversity by synthesizing perspectives from developmental and evolutionary biology.
Selected Publications
- Salazar-Nicholls M.J., Macías Bazante H., and Warkentin K.M. (2025). Functional morphology of hatching: Ontogeny and distribution of hatching gland cells in red-eyed treefrogs and a new marker for anuran hatching enzyme. Journal of Morphology 286: e70029.
- Méndez-Narváez J. and Warkentin K.M. (2025). Effects of larval foam-making and prolonged terrestriality on morphology, nitrogen excretion and development to metamorphosis in a leptodactylid frog. PeerJ 13:e18990
- Jung J., Caldwell M.S., McDaniel J.G., and Warkentin K.M. (2025). The role of vibration amplitude in the escape-hatching response of red-eyed treefrog embryos. Integrative Organismal Biology 7:obaf012
- Lisondro-Arosemena A., Salazar-Nicholls M.J., and Warkentin K.M. (2024). Elevated ammonia cues hatching in red-eyed treefrogs: A mechanism for escape from drying eggs. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B:jez.b.23253.
- Güell B.A., McDaniel J.G., and Warkentin K.M. (2024). Egg-clutch biomechanics affect escape-hatching behavior and performance. Integrative Organismal Biology 6:obae006.
- Méndez-Narváez J. and Warkentin K.M. (2023). Early onset of urea synthesis and ammonia detoxification pathways in three terrestrially developing frogs. Journal of Comparative Physiology B 193:523–543.
- Guevara-Molina E.C., Ribeiro Gomes F., and Warkentin K.M. (2022). Heat-induced hatching of red-eyed treefrog embryos: Hydration and clutch structure increase behavioral thermal tolerance. Integrative Organismal Biology 4:obac041.
- Warkentin K.M., Jung J., and McDaniel J.G. (2022). Research approaches in mechanosensory-cued hatching. In Biotremology: Physiology, Ecology, and Evolution. Animal Signals and Communication (eds) Hill P.S.M., Mazzoni V., Stritih Peljhan N., Virant-Doberlet M., Wessel A.:157–201.
Courses Taught:
- WS 101: Gender and Sexuality I: An Interdisciplinary Introduction
- BI 506: Phenotypic Plasticity
- BI 507: Diversity of Sex
- BI 581/582: Seminar in Biology