From Habitat Use to Social Behavior: Natural History of a Voiceless Poison Frog, Dendrobates tinctorius

Abstract

17Descriptive studies of natural history have always been a source of knowledge on which experimental 18 work and scientific progress rely. Poison frogs are a well-studied group of small Neotropical frogs with 19 diverse parental behaviors, distinct calls, and bright colors that warn predators about their toxicity; and a 20 showcase of advances in fundamental biology through natural history observations. The dyeing poison 21 frog, Dendrobates tinctorius, is emblematic of the Guianas region, widespread in the pet-trade, and 22 increasingly popular in research. This species shows several unusual behaviors, such as the lack of 23 advertisement calls and the aggregation around tree-fall gaps, which remain poorly described and 24 understood. Here, we summarize our observations from a natural population of D. tinctorius in French 25Guiana collected over various field trips between 2009 and 2017; our aim is to provide groundwork for 26 future fundamental and applied research spanning parental care, animal dispersal, disease spread, habitat 27 use in relation to color patterns, and intra specific communication, to name a few. We report sex 28 differences in habitat use and the striking invasion of tree-fall gaps; describe their courtship and 29 aggressive behaviors; document egg development and tadpole transport; and discuss how the knowledge 30 generated by this study could set the grounds for further research on the behavior, ecology, and 31 conservation of this species. 32 33 34 Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) and their close relatives are a showcase example of how 42 detailed knowledge of natural history can lead to groundbreaking hypothesis-driven studies (e.g. Santos et 43 al. 2003;Brown et al. 2010;Amézquita et al. 2011;Pašukonis et al. 2014;Tarvin et al. 2017). Exhaustive 44 field observations have revealed the diversity of poison frog parental care behavior (e.g. Crump 1972;

Hormonal and neural correlates of care in active versus observing poison frog parents

“…The general pattern of decreased androgen levels during parental effort may result from reduced testosterone facilitating parental care via a reduction in testosterone-mediated sexual and aggressive behavior (Adkins-Regan, 2005;Ketterson and Nolan, 1992). D. tinctorius males are not highly territorial or aggressive (Rojas and Pašukonis, 2019), and neither males nor females exhibit changes in territoriality or aggression associated with parental status, although this has not been tested experimentally. However, as non-seasonal breeders, short-term physiological shifts could be important in balancing reproductive and parental behaviors.…”

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of the Prolonged Courtship in Brilliant-Thighed Poison Frogs, Allobates femoralis

“…Males often call to advertise their territory with the purpose of repelling conspecific male competitors and attracting females. Typically, females initiate courtship by approaching a calling male (Wells 1978;Greer and Wells 1980;Limerick 1980;Bourne et al 2001) and then following him across the forest floor to an oviposition site (Dendrobates auratus [Wells 1978]; D. tinctorius [Rojas and Pašukonis 2019]; Oophaga pumilio [Limerick 1980;Prö hl and Hö dl 1999]; D. leucomelas and O. histrionica [Summers 1992]; Ameerega trivittata and Allobates femoralis [Roithmair 1994a]; Anomaloglossus beebei [Bourne et al 2001]; Al.…”

Much more than a clasp: Evolutionary pattern of amplexus diversity in anurans

“…Our results support such intuition, as at least 22 dendrobatid species exhibit cephalic amplexus, whereas 18 species exhibit no amplexus (Weygoldt, 1987; Castillo-Trenn & Coloma, 2008). Moreover, most species of Dendrobatidae are prolonged breeders (Wells, 1977), mostly terrestrial, highly territorial and whose oviposition occurs in hidden places under leaflitter and tree roots (Wells, 1978; Pröhl, 2005; Summers & Tumulty, 2014; Rojas & Pašukonis, 2019). Under these conditions, it might be assumed that aposematic males have fewer risks of predation and losing a female, attracted via acoustic and visual signals, because of the action of an intruder male (Zamudio et al ., 2016).…”