Technische Universität Braunschweig

‘Captain Sisko’ is a new favourite frog image and the audio file is a revelation (scroll down and the scroll down further). Later on, this is an amusing cartoon version of a Star Trek captain.

As for the story proper, scientists who have a passion for Star Trek have made a discovery in Madagascar, from an October 15, 2024 news item on ScienceDaily,

An international team of researchers have discovered seven new species of tree frogs that make otherworldly calls in the rainforests of Madagascar. Their strange, high-pitched whistling calls sound more like sound effects from the sci-fi series Star Trek. As a result, the researchers have named the new species after seven of the series’ most iconic captains.

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This is a gorgeous frog,

Frog Boophis to be named after Captain Sisko from Star Trek. Photo: Mark D. Scherz

An October 15, 2024 University of Copenhagen press release (also on EurekAlert), which originated the news item,

If you think all frogs croak, you’d be wrong. Seven newly discovered species from the tree frog genus Boophis, found across the rainforests of Madagascar, emit special bird-like whistling sounds in their communication with other frogs.

These whistling sounds reminded the research team, led by Professor Miguel Vences of the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, of Star Trek, where similar whistle-like sound effects are frequently used.

“That’s why we named the frogs after Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham, and Pike—seven of the most iconic captains from the sci-fi series,” says Professor Vences.

“Not only do these frogs sound like sound-effects from Star Trek, but it seems also fitting that to find them, you often have to do quite a bit of trekking! A few species are found in places accessible to tourists, but to find several of these species, we had to undertake major expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks. There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek,” explains Assistant Professor Mark D. Scherz from the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, who was senior author on the study.

To Drown Out the Sound of Water

The otherworldly calls of these frogs are known as “advertisement calls”—a type of self-promotion that, according to the researchers, may convey information about the male frog’s suitability as a mate to females. This particular group live along fast-flowing streams in the most mountainous regions of Madagascar—a loud background that may explain why the frogs call at such high pitches.

For fans of Star Trek, some of the frog calls might remind them of sounds from the so-called ‘boatswain whistle’ and a device called the ‘tricorder.’ To others, they might sound like a bird or an insect.

“If the frogs just croaked like our familiar European frogs, they might not be audible over the sound of rushing water from the rivers they live near. Their high-pitched trills and whistles stand out against all that noise,” explains Dr Jörn Köhler, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany, who played a key role in analyzing the calls of the frogs.

“The appearance of the frogs has led to them being confused with similar species until now, but each species makes a distinctive series of these high-pitched whistles, that has allowed us to tell them apart from each other, and from other frogs,” he says.

The calls also lined up with the genetic analysis the team performed.

Vulnerable to Climate Change

Madagascar is renowned for its immense biodiversity, and research in its rainforests continues to uncover hidden species, making it a true paradise for frogs. Madagascar, an island roughly the size of France, is home to about 9% of all the world’s frog species.

“We’ve only scratched the surface of what Madagascar’s rainforests have to offer. Every time we go into the forest, we find new species, and just in terms of frogs, there are still several hundred species we haven’t yet described,” says Professor Andolalao Rakotoarison of the Université d’Itasy in Madagascar. Just in the last ten years, she and the rest of this team have described around 100 new species from the island.

The researchers behind the discovery hope that this new knowledge will strengthen conservation efforts in Madagascar’s rainforests. The species often live in close geographic proximity but at different altitudes and in different microhabitats. This division makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in climate or the environment.

Thus, the research team urges greater awareness around the conservation of Madagascar’s biodiversity to ensure that these unique species and their habitats are preserved for the future. But they also hope to continue exploring, to seek out new species in forests where no scientist has gone before.

Researchers have made an audio file of the ‘Star Trek’ captain calls available, from the October 15, 2024 University of Copenhagen press release on EurekAlert, If I didn’t know, I would have guessed these were frogs,

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper

Communicator whistles: A Trek through the taxonomy of the Boophis marojezensis complex reveals seven new, morphologically cryptic treefrogs from Madagascar (Amphibia: Anura: Mantellidae) by Miguel Vences, Jörn Köhler, Carl R. Hutter, Michaela Preick, Alice Petzold, Andolalao Rakotoarison, Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina, Frank Glaw, Mark D. Scherz. Vertebrate Zoology 74: 643-681 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/vz.74.e121110 Published October 14, 2024

This article appears to be open access.

There is an amusing illustration of one of the ‘Star Trek’ frog. Unfortunately, there isn’t a caption or credit for the illustration but it is from the University of Copenhagen,

Sometimes research that seems mundane reveals something unexpected. Of course, scientists gain from communicating with the public but, in this case, researchers wanted to probe past the obvious and they announced their results in a December 5, 2022 news item on phys.org,

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Scientists who communicate their research to non-scientific audiences experience positive retroactive effects on their scientific work, according to a newly published study. “As a result of their involvement in public outreach, the scientists we surveyed not only perceived an increase in their personal motivation and competence for public communication, but they also saw benefits related to networking and knowledge exchange with colleagues from other disciplines within interdisciplinary research networks,” explains psychologist Dr Friederike Hendriks from the Technische Universität Braunschweig. Together with psychologist Prof Rainer Bromme from the University of Münster, she collected assessments from scientists at Münster University on their involvement in the public communication activities of two interdisciplinary research networks in the field of cell dynamics and imaging. The basic premise, she says, is that scientists who engage in communication with non-scientific audiences need to broaden their own specialised views of their research in order to make complex topics understandable. As the same principle is true for interactions with fellow researchers from other disciplines, communication with people beyond the scientific community can also promote communication between different disciplines within science.
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A December 2, 2022 University of Münster press release (also on EurekAlert but published December 5, 2022), which originated the news item, provides more detail about the research,

The interviewees reported almost no negative effects related to their community outreach. However, they agreed that they had limited time and resources for such tasks. Furthermore, doctoral students were more hesitant in their assessment of their role in public communications and its benefits than postdocs, who are more advanced in their careers, and professors. “As a scientist, you have to weigh priorities in the face of multiple tasks,” says Rainer Bromme. He emphasises that their study “helps make clear that science communication is not just an effort that you make for other people on top of your many other tasks, that it can also be beneficial for your work,” adding that public communication both demands and promotes reflection on one’s own research and the relationship between science and society.
Crossing boundaries facilitates learning on multiple levels
The positive side effects that the scientists associated with their public outreach activities included finding a “common language” between different disciplines, getting an overview of research projects, and developing a better understanding of the research of their colleagues in other disciplines. In one case, two research groups who collaborated on public outreach activities even went on to undertake a joint scientific project. The majority of interviewees also reported that they enjoyed the activities, perceived an improvement in their public communication skills and were motivated, by their positive experiences, to pursue further engagement. Individuals also reported that interacting with non-expert audiences had encouraged them to reflect on their own work on a more abstract level. These diverse potentials were identified and explored by the researchers who produced this study based on the theory of “boundary crossing”. “When boundaries come up or are even crossed in communication with other people, this opens up avenues for learning about yourself and your conversation partners,” explains Friederike Hendriks.
Science communication as a beneficial joint task
When compared to postdocs and professors, doctoral students rated their own research as less interesting to the public. They were also more likely to think that their careers would not benefit from science communication and that it should be done by experienced people. “As a doctoral student, you usually work on smaller research questions and, only as your expertise develops in your career, can you place them in larger contexts so that they also become interesting for people beyond the scientific community,” explains Friederike Hendriks. She emphasises that it is, therefore, important to design science communication formats and opportunities that are appropriate for doctoral students in terms of content and time. She explains how, in the research networks involved in the survey, this was achieved through, for example, lab workshops for high-school students and contributions to picture exhibitions.
She also highlights that the high level of outreach the scientists interviewed had engaged in shows that research networks can help establish a culture in which communication is seen as a valuable joint task rather than a burdensome additional task. Friederike Hendriks herself is currently working with her junior research group to develop communication training for early career researchers which teaches research-based strategies and skills to support researchers to engage in comprehensible and counterpart-involving conversations about science.
Sample and communication activities in the focus of the study
The team surveyed 75 scientists from various career stages and disciplines – including doctoral students, postdocs and professors from medicine, biology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and computer science – who collaborate in research networks across disciplinary boundaries. The participating networks included the Collaborative Research Centre 656 “Molecular Cardiovascular Imaging” and the “Cells in Motion” Cluster of Excellence at the University of Münster. The focus of the study was on activities initiated by these networks. They ranged from laboratory tours, workshops and lectures for children, young people and adults to exhibitions with interactive exhibits and scientific images, to information media such as websites, brochures, audio and video formats, and press relations.
The study was conducted in 2016 and 2017 and has now been published in the social science journal “Science Communication”. Friederike Hendriks was working at the University of Münster at the time the survey was undertaken.

I wonder what the results would if the research were conducted again under current political and social conditions.

Here’s a link to and a citation for the paper,

Researchers’ Public Engagement in the Context of Interdisciplinary Research Programs: Learning and Reflection from Boundary Crossing by Friederike Hendriks and Rainer Bromme. Science Communication DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470221137052

This paper is behind a paywall.

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Scientists gain from communication with public