scholarly journals Naïve Poison Frog tadpoles use bi-modal cues to avoid insect predators but not heterospecific predatory tadpoles

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Birgit Szabo ◽  
Rosanna Mangione ◽  
Matthias Rath ◽  
Andrius Pašukonis ◽  
Stephan A. Reber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Water Control ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Appropriate Behavior ◽  
Frog Tadpoles ◽  
Allobates Femoralis ◽  
Insect Predators ◽  
Individual Design

For animals to survive until reproduction, it is crucial that juveniles successfully detect potential predators and respond with appropriate behavior. The recognition of cues originating from predators can be innate or learned. Cues of various modalities might be used alone or in multi-modal combinations to detect and distinguish predators but studies investigating multi-modal integration in predator avoidance are scarce. Here, we used wild, naive tadpoles of the Neotropical Poison Frog Allobates femoralis (Boulenger, 1884) to test their reaction to cues with two modalities from two different sympatrically occurring potential predators: heterospecific predatory Dendrobates tinctorius tadpoles and dragonfly larvae. We presented A. femoralis tadpoles with olfactory or visual cues, or a combination of both and compared their reaction to a water-control in a between-individual design. In our trials, A. femoralis tadpoles reacted to multimodal stimuli (a combination of visual and chemical information) originating from dragonfly larvae with avoidance but showed no reaction to uni-modal cues or cues from heterospecific tadpoles. In addition, visual cues from conspecifics increased swimming activity while cues from predators had no effect on tadpole activity. Our results show that A. femoralis tadpoles can innately recognize some predators and likely need both visual and chemical information to effectively avoid them. This is the first study looking at anti-predator behavior in Poison Frog tadpoles. We discuss how parental care might influence the expression of predator avoidance responses in tadpoles.

Threat-sensitive predator avoidance by slimy sculpins: understanding the importance of visual versus chemical information

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (5) ◽  
pp. 867-873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas P Chivers ◽  
Reehan S Mirza ◽  
Pamela J Bryer ◽  
Joseph M Kiesecker
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Brook Trout ◽  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Salvelinus Fontinalis ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Cottus Cognatus ◽  
Predation Threat

The supposition that prey animals assess and behave flexibly in response to different degrees of predation threat is known as the threat-sensitive predator avoidance hypothesis. We completed a series of field and laboratory experiments to examine whether slimy sculpins (Cottus cognatus) exhibit threat-sensitive predator avoidance when exposed to sympatric predatory brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis). In a field experiment we caged small and large trout in similar habitats and found that sculpins avoided areas containing trout that were large enough to pose a threat to them, but did not avoid areas containing trout that were small and hence not a threat. In a series of laboratory experiments we found that sculpins showed threat-sensitive predator avoidance when they could assess the predator visually. However, when only chemical cues from the predator were presented, sculpins responded to the predator regardless of its size. Chemical cues seem to function to warn the sculpin that the predator is in the vicinity, but visual cues are needed in order to accurately assess the risk posed by the predator.

Avoiding Predation: The Importance of Chemical and Visual Cues in Poison Frog Reproductive Behaviour

2012 ◽  
pp. 309-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa M. Schulte ◽  
Rainer Schulte ◽  
Stefan Lötters
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Poison Frog

scholarly journals The Influence of Environmental Variation on the Genetic Structure of a Poison Frog Distributed Across Continuous Amazonian Rainforest

2020 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 457-470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony S Ferreira ◽  
Albertina P Lima ◽  
Robert Jehle ◽  
Miquéias Ferrão ◽  
Adam Stow
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Structure ◽  
Amazon Basin ◽  
Geographic Distance ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Environmental Resistance ◽  
Genetic Groups ◽  
Allobates Femoralis ◽  
Phylogenetic Divergence

Abstract Biogeographic barriers such as rivers have been shown to shape spatial patterns of biodiversity in the Amazon basin, yet relatively little is known about the distribution of genetic variation across continuous rainforest. Here, we characterize the genetic structure of the brilliant-thighed poison frog (Allobates femoralis) across an 880-km-long transect along the Purus-Madeira interfluve south of the Amazon river, based on 64 individuals genotyped at 7609 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci. A population tree and clustering analyses revealed 4 distinct genetic groups, one of which was strongly divergent. These genetic groups were concomitant with femoral spot coloration differences, which was intermediate within a zone of admixture between two of the groups. The location of these genetic groups did not consistently correspond to current ecological transitions between major forest types. A multimodel approach to quantify the relative influence of isolation-by-geographic distance (IBD) and isolation-by-environmental resistance (IBR) nevertheless revealed that, in addition to a strong signal of IBD, spatial genetic differentiation was explained by IBR primarily linked to dry season intensity (r2 = 8.4%) and canopy cover (r2 = 6.4%). We show significant phylogenetic divergence in the absence of obvious biogeographical barriers and that finer-scaled measures of genetic structure are associated with environmental variables also known to predict the density of A. femoralis.

scholarly journals Sound radiation pattern of the advertisement call of the highly territorial poison frog Allobates femoralis

2020 ◽  
Vol 170 ◽  
pp. 103996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilo Rodríguez ◽  
Walter Hödl
Keyword(s):  
Radiation Pattern ◽  
Sound Radiation ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Allobates Femoralis

scholarly journals What Does an Insect Hear? Reassessing the Role of Hearing in Predator Avoidance with Insights from Vertebrate Prey

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. 1036-1057
Author(s):  
Jayne E Yack ◽  
Brianna H Raven ◽  
Michelle B Leveillee ◽  
Mairelys Naranjo
Keyword(s):  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Antipredator Defense ◽  
Communication Signals ◽  
Hearing Sensitivity ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Insect Prey ◽  
Lack Of Information ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Insect Predators

Synopsis Insects have a diversity of hearing organs known to function in a variety of contexts, including reproduction, locating food, and defense. While the role of hearing in predator avoidance has been extensively researched over the past several decades, this research has focused on the detection of one type of predator-echolocating bats. Here we reassess the role of hearing in antipredator defense by considering how insects use their ears to detect and avoid the wide range of predators that consume them. To identify the types of sounds that could be relevant to insect prey, we first review the topic of hearing-mediated predator avoidance in vertebrates. Sounds used by vertebrate prey to assess predation risk include incidental sound cues (e.g., flight sounds, rustling vegetation, and splashing) produced by an approaching predator or another escaping prey, as well as communication signals produced by a predator (e.g., echolocation calls, songs) or nonpredator (e.g., alarm calls). We then review what is known, and what is not known, about such sounds made by the main predators and parasitoids of insects (i.e., birds, bats, terrestrial vertebrates, and invertebrates) and how insects respond to them. Three key insights emerged from our review. First, there is a lack of information on how both vertebrate and insect prey use passive sound cues produced by predators to avoid being captured. Second, while there are numerous examples of vertebrate prey eavesdropping on the calls and songs of predators and nonpredators to assess risk, there are currently no such examples for eared insect prey. Third, the hearing sensitivity of many insects, including those with ears considered to be dedicated to detecting bats or mates, overlaps with both sound cues and signals generated by nonbat predators. Sounds of particular relevance to insect prey include the flight sounds and calls of insectivorous birds, the flight sounds of insect predators and parasitoids, and rustling vegetation sounds of birds and terrestrial predators. We conclude that research on the role of insect hearing in predator avoidance has been disproportionally focused on bat-detection, and that acoustically-mediated responses to other predators may have been overlooked because the responses of prey may be subtle (e.g., ceasing activity, increasing vigilance). We recommend that researchers expand their testing of hearing-mediated risk assessment in insects by considering the wide range of sounds generated by predators, and the varied responses exhibited by prey to these sounds.

Is the perception of their own odour effective in orienting the exploratory activity of cave fishes?

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (6) ◽  
pp. 871-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annalisa Paglianti ◽  
Giuseppe Messana ◽  
Alessandro Cianfanelli ◽  
Roberto Berti
Keyword(s):  
Visual Cues ◽  
Spatial Information ◽  
Spatial Knowledge ◽  
Chemical Information ◽  
Fish Swimming ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Sensory Pathways ◽  
Water Volumes ◽  
Odour Perception

Spatial knowledge of the surrounding environment is extremely important for animals to locate and efficiently exploit available resources (e.g., food, shelters, mates). Fishes usually acquire spatial information about their home range through vision, but vision fails in the dark and other sensory pathways have to be exploited. Fishes possess a remarkable olfactory system and have evolved a refined ability of chemical detection and recognition. Nevertheless, while the role of chemical cues in spatial orientation is well known in long-distance salmonid migrations, it has never been investigated in orientation within local, familiar areas. Here we report the first evidence that fish swimming can be topographically polarized by self-odour perception. When an unfamiliar area was experimentally scented with fish self-odour, the cave cyprinid Phreatichthys andruzzii Vinciguerra, 1924 behaved as if the area was previously explored. The fish preferred an odour-free area to a self-odour-scented one, and when offered the choice between a familiar and an unfamiliar area, they preferred the unexplored environment. Avoidance of self-odour-scented areas would allow effective exploration of the subterranean environment, minimizing the risks of repeatedly exploring the same water volumes. Our results are the first clear evidence that fish can use their own odour to orient their locomotor activity when visual cues are not available. This highlights the possible role of chemical information in fish orientation.

scholarly journals Poison frogs rely on experience to find the way home in the rainforest

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 20140642 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrius Pašukonis ◽  
Ian Warrington ◽  
Max Ringler ◽  
Walter Hödl
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Local Area ◽  
Direct Path ◽  
Learning Abilities ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Poison Frogs ◽  
Direction Finder ◽  
Allobates Femoralis ◽  
Way Finding

Among vertebrates, comparable spatial learning abilities have been found in birds, mammals, turtles and fishes, but virtually nothing is known about such abilities in amphibians. Overall, amphibians are the most sedentary vertebrates, but poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) routinely shuttle tadpoles from terrestrial territories to dispersed aquatic deposition sites. We hypothesize that dendrobatid frogs rely on learning for flexible navigation. We tested the role of experience with the local cues for poison frog way-finding by (i) experimentally displacing territorial males of Allobates femoralis over several hundred metres, (ii) using a harmonic direction finder with miniature transponders to track these small frogs, and (iii) using a natural river barrier to separate the translocated frogs from any familiar landmarks. We found that homeward orientation was disrupted by the translocation to the unfamiliar area but frogs translocated over similar distances in their local area showed significant homeward orientation and returned to their territories via a direct path. We suggest that poison frogs rely on spatial learning for way-finding in their local area.

Poison frog tadpoles seek parental transportation to escape their cannibalistic siblings

2017 ◽  
Vol 303 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. M. Schulte ◽  
M. Mayer
Keyword(s):  
Poison Frog ◽  
Frog Tadpoles

scholarly journals Watch out where you sleep: Nocturnal sleeping behaviour of Bay Island lizards

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nitya Prakash Mohanty ◽  
Surendran Harikrishnan ◽  
Karthikeyan Vasudevan
Keyword(s):  
Predator Avoidance ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Adaptive Significance ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Sleeping Site ◽  
Site Characteristics ◽  
Insight Into

Sleeping exposes lizards to predation. Therefore, sleeping strategies must be directed towards avoiding predation and might vary among syntopic species. We studied sleeping site characteristics of two syntopic, congeneric lizards - the Bay Island forest lizard, Coryphophylax subcristatus and the short-tailed Bay Island lizard, C. brevicaudus and evaluated inter-specific differences. We measured structural, microclimatic and potential predator avoidance at the sleeping perches of 386 C. subcristatus and 185 C. brevicaudus. Contrary to our expectation, we found similar perch use in both species. The lizards appeared to use narrow girth perch plants and accessed perches by moving both vertically and horizontally. Most lizards slept on leaves, with their heads directed towards the potential path of a predator approaching from the plant base. There was no inter-specific competition in the choices of sleeping perches. These choices indicate an anti-predator strategy involving both tactile and visual cues. This study provides insight into a rarely studied behaviour in reptiles and its adaptive significance.

scholarly journals Neural correlates of winning and losing fights in poison frog tadpoles

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 ◽  
pp. 112973 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva K Fischer ◽  
Harmony Alvarez ◽  
Katherine M Lagerstrom ◽  
Jordan E McKinney ◽  
Randi Petrillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Poison Frog ◽  
Frog Tadpoles
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