Raquel R. Dexter was an

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

at the

University of Puerto Rico The University of Puerto Rico (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Universidad de Puerto Rico;'' often shortened to UPR) is the main List of state and territorial universities in the United States, public university system in the Commonwealth (U.S. i ...

known for her influential research on the insect diet of

cane toad The cane toad (''Rhinella marina''), also known as the giant neotropical toad or marine toad, is a large, Terrestrial animal, terrestrial true toad native to South America, South and mainland Central America, but which has been Introduced spe ...

s. Cane toads had been imported from

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

to Puerto Rico in 1920, in an attempt to control native beetle larvae (white grubs) that had been devastating the local

sugar cane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

crop. This was largely successful, and in 1932 Dexter presented research showing that the diet of the toads largely consisted of these beetles. Her research became the basis for the large-scale importation of cane toads to

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia, where the grubs of a different form of native cane beetle had been devastating sugar crops. However,

cane toads in Australia The cane toad in Australia is regarded as an exemplary case of an invasive species. Australia's relative isolation prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), European colonisation and the Industrial Revolution, both of which dramatically in ...

became an ecological catastrophe, as the cane-dwelling Australian beetles were inaccessible to the ground-dwelling toads, and the toads ate other insect species and poisoned other local animals. Dexter was elected as a

Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (FAAAS) is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected ...

in 1954.

References

Year of birth missing Possibly living people Puerto Rican scientists Puerto Rican women scientists Entomologists Women entomologists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science {{Entomologist-stub