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

Abstract

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.

Increased parental effort fails to buffer the cascading effects of warmer seas on common guillemot demographic rates

“…It is geographically and taxonomically widespread (e.g. great tits Parus major Charmantier et al, 2008; black bears Ursus americanus Johnson et al, 2020; poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) Justicia et al, 2022). Responses mediated via parental effort have been best documented in birds, particularly colonially breeding species with restricted foraging ranges and energetically expensive foraging methods, and parental effort is widely used as a ‘barometer’ of changes in environmental conditions (Burger & Piatt, 1990; Fayet et al, 2021; Harding et al, 2007).…”

What Amphibians Can Teach Us About the Evolution of Parental Care

“…In addition, given the importance of amphibians as ecological indicators of environmental disturbance, more studies should investigate the effects of global change on the different forms of care ( Schlippe Justicia et al 2022 ). While it has been previously reported that hostile environments do not seem to be associated with any specific type of care ( Vági et al 2020 ), current trends of climate change and habitat destruction may yet render this finding obsolete.…”