NDLI: A danger foreseen is a danger avoided: how chemical cues of different tadpoles influence parental decisions of a Neotropical poison frog

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Schulte, Lisa M. Lötters, Stefan
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	The protection of offspring against predators and competitors is especially important in organisms using spatially separated breeding resources, impeding the offspring’s chances to escape. One example of such isolated reproductive resources are phytotelmata (small water bodies in plant axils), exploited by the Neotropical poison frog Ranitomeya variabilis (Dendrobatidae) for both clutch and tadpole deposition. Because poison frog tadpoles are often cannibalistic, parents tend to avoid deposition with conspecifics. Previous studies have shown that this avoidance is based on chemical cues produced by conspecific tadpoles. Further, cues produced by phylogenetically less-related tadpoles (Bufonidae) were avoided for clutch but not tadpole depositions. We analyzed how the different responses to tadpole cues are triggered. We tested the reactions of parental R. variabilis to tadpole cues of species differing in two aspects: whether or not they are dendrobatids, and whether or not they reproduce in phytotelmata. We found that for clutch deposition, tadpole cues were always avoided, i.e., all tadpoles were treated by the frogs as if they pose a danger to the eggs. However, responses varied for tadpole depositions: while dendrobatid larvae living in phytotelmata were avoided, those breeding in streams were not. Non-poison frog tadpoles were ignored when associated with habitat other than phytotelmata, but they were preferred when living in phytotelmata. This suggests that both phylogeny and tadpole habitat are important triggers for the decisions made by R. variabilis. Only tadpoles using the same breeding resources are considered as relevant for the frog’s own larvae (i.e., as a potential danger or food resource), while further decisions are related to evolutionary relationship.
Starting Page	267
Ending Page	275
Page Count	9
File Format	PDF
ISSN	14359448
Journal	Animal Cognition
Volume Number	17
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	14359456
Language	English
Publisher	Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Publisher Date	2013-07-13
Publisher Place	Berlin, Heidelberg
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Subject Keyword	Ranitomeya variabilis Phytotelmata Parental care Predation Behavioural Sciences Zoology Human Physiology Evolutionary Biology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Experimental and Cognitive Psychology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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