![UWindsor biological sciences PhD student Katrina Switzer is working with 3D-printed yellow toads in the forests of Costa Rica to see how females choose among similarly coloured males. UWindsor biological sciences PhD student Katrina Switzer is working with 3D-printed yellow toads in the forests of Costa Rica to see how females choose among similarly coloured males.](http://www.uwindsor.ca/dailynews/rehse/socialwork/sites/uwindsor.ca.dailynews/files/styles/full/public/robotoad.jpg?itok=NpN-KzBb)
Apr 20th, 2018
When the rains eventually blanket northwest Costa Rica, ushering in the country’s wet season, a booming chorus of yellow toads will fill the tropical forest.
And the moment that rain starts to fall, UWindsor’s Katrina Switzer will race to a pond in Santa Rosa National Park where she’ll match 3D printed “Robotoads” with unsuspecting mates.
“The Neotropical Yellow Toads have a large breeding event that really only happens once a year during the first massive rainfall,” Switzer explained, adding the rain usually starts falling in the middle of the night.