Aposematism facilitates the diversification of parental care strategies in poison frogs

Carvajal-Castro, Juan D.; Vargas‐Salinas, Fernando; Casas‐Cardona, Santiago; Rojas, Bibiana; Santos, Juan Carlos

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-97206-6

Cited by 36 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 117 publications

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“…2010; Carvajal‐Castro et al. 2021). Here, we aimed to test if the evolution of parental care is correlated with morphological traits under viability or sexual selection or both.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our understanding of the evolution of anuran parental care has largely been focused on determining costs and benefits (Alonso-Alvarez and Velando 2012) or drawing inferences from largescale phylogenetic comparisons of care with other ecological factors, such as terrestriality (Lion et al 2019;Vági et al 2019) or breeding sites (Brown et al 2010;Carvajal-Castro et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Breeding in phytotelmata or small breeding pools, on the other hand, limits the exposure of eggs or larvae to potential predators (Kam et al 1996;Carvajal-Castro et al 2021). Regardless of where breeding occurs, parents incur greater energetic expenditure when they engage in caregiving behaviors, such as egg provisioning (Brown et al 2010), and experience greater predation risk from prolonged exposure while guarding or transporting eggs (e.g., Poo and Bickford 2013;Carvajal-Castro et al 2021). Adult anurans are prey to visually hunting predators such as birds, snakes, mammals, and invertebrates (see Toledo 2005;Toledo et al 2007;Wells 2007) and reduce predation risk by engaging in a wide suite of behavioral strategies (e.g., Bickford 2004;Poo et al 2016;Chuang et al 2017).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2010), and experience greater predation risk from prolonged exposure while guarding or transporting eggs (e.g., Poo and Bickford 2013; Carvajal‐Castro et al. 2021). Adult anurans are prey to visually hunting predators such as birds, snakes, mammals, and invertebrates (see Toledo 2005; Toledo et al.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several anuran families use warning coloration or are aposematic (i.e., with chemical defense) to advertise unpalatability to predators (Wells 2007; Rojas 2017), and only recently has the role of body coloration in decreasing predation risk been observed among one group of anurans (e.g., poison‐dart frogs; Carvajal‐Castro et al. 2021). Although there is an increasing amount of evidence for how life‐history traits shape body colors and patterns in taxonomic groups such as birds (Dale et al.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Correlated evolution of parental care with dichromatism, colors, and patterns in anurans

Seshadri

Thaker

2022

Evolution

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Parental care is widespread and has fitness benefits. But caregiving parents incur costs including higher predation, and this may lead to selection for body colors or patterns that help mitigate the risks of caring. The evolution of coloration, including sexual dichromatism, however, can be driven by other factors, such as sexual selection. Therefore, examining the associations between parental care and color patterns may provide key insights into evolutionary patterns and selection pressures for parental care. Our comparative analysis of 988 anuran species reveals that dichromatic species are less likely to provide parental care, irrespective of the caregiving sex, and are more likely to breed in aquatic habitats. We then examined whether dorsal colors and patterns that enhance crypticity or function as aposematic signals are associated with the caregiving sex, and the modality of care (transport or stationary). Only caregiving males are more likely to have dorsal Stripes, but none of the colors (Green-Brown, Red, Yellow, Blue-Black) and other patterns (Plain, Bands, Spots, Mottled-Patches) were associated with caregiving females or the modality of care. Overall, sexual dichromatism, breeding ecology, and parental care are associated, but the evolution of caregiving behavior does not appear to influence the myriad colors and patterns characteristic of anurans globally.

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“…2010; Carvajal‐Castro et al. 2021). Here, we aimed to test if the evolution of parental care is correlated with morphological traits under viability or sexual selection or both.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Correlated evolution of parental care with dichromatism, colors, and patterns in anurans

Seshadri

Thaker

2022

Evolution

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Little evidence for color- or size-based mating preferences by male strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio)

Lehman,

González-Santoro,

Richards-Zawacki

2024

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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While there are many studies documenting female mating preferences across taxa, male mate choice remains relatively understudied. Male mate choice often develops when there is variation in female quality and thus the fitness benefits of mating with particular females. Specifically, males tend to prefer females with traits that confer direct fitness benefits such as large body size, which may be linked with high fecundity. Prior work has shown that females of the strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, prefer males bearing certain coloration (most often the female’s own color), and that this preference can be learned through maternal imprinting. Females have been shown to prefer larger males as well. Here we test whether similar mate preferences for color and size exist in males of this species using two-way choice tests on captive bred male O. pumilio. In each test focal males were placed in an arena with two stimulus females: either both of the same size but differing in color, or both of the same color but differing in size. We found only weak evidence for behavioral biases toward particular colors and no evidence for biases toward larger females, suggesting that males of O. pumilio do not predictably choose mates based on these female traits. Despite several aspects of their natural history that suggest males have reasons to be choosy, our findings suggest that the cost of mate rejection may outweigh any fitness benefits derived from being selective of mates. Studies of additional populations, ideally conducted on wild individuals, are needed to better understand the range of conditions under which males may exhibit mate choice and the types of traits on which they base these choices. Significance statement To fully understand the fitness landscapes and evolutionary trajectories that result from sexual selection, we need to understand when and how the mate preferences of the two sexes act and interact. While female mate choice has been widely studied, male mate choice remains poorly understood. To help bridge this gap, we studied male mate preferences in the strawberry poison frog Oophaga pumilio, a small brightly colored frog for which female preferences for male color and size have been well-documented. We found no evidence that male O. pumilio exhibit mate preferences based on female size and little evidence for male mate preferences based on female color. This is surprising given that larger females are often more fecund, male O. pumilio are known to exhibit color-based behavioral biases in the context of male-male competition, and both sexes provide parental care.

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Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges

2022

Self Cite

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The current and cascading effects of global change challenges the interactions both between animal individuals (i.e. social and sexual behaviour) and the environment they inhabit. Amphibians are an ecologically diverse class with a wide range of social and sexual behaviours, making them a compelling model to understand the potential adaptations of animals faced with the effects of human-induced rapid environmental changes (HIREC). Poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) are a particularly interesting system, as they display diverse social behaviours that are shaped by conspecific and environmental interactions, thus offering a tractable system to investigate how closely related species may respond to the impacts of HIREC. Here, we discuss the potential impacts of global change on poison frog behaviour, and the future challenges this group may face in response to such change. We pay special attention to parental care and territoriality, which are emblematic of this clade, and consider how different species may flexibly respond and adapt to increasingly frequent and diverse anthropogenic stress. More specifically, we hypothesise that some parents may increase care (i.e. clutch attendance and distance travelled for tadpole transport) in HIREC scenarios and that species with more generalist oviposition and tadpole deposition behaviours may fare more positively than their less flexible counterparts; we predict that the latter may either face increased competition for resources limited by HIREC or will be forced to adapt and expand their natural preferences. Likewise, we hypothesise that human-driven habitat alteration will disrupt the acoustic and visual communication systems due to increased noise pollution and/or changes in the surrounding light environment. We highlight the need for more empirical research combining behavioural ecology and conservation to better predict species’ vulnerability to global change and efficiently focus conservation efforts.

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Aposematism facilitates the diversification of parental care strategies in poison frogs

Cited by 36 publications

References 117 publications

Correlated evolution of parental care with dichromatism, colors, and patterns in anurans

Correlated evolution of parental care with dichromatism, colors, and patterns in anurans

Little evidence for color- or size-based mating preferences by male strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio)

Poison frog social behaviour under global change: potential impacts and future challenges

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