Odor cues rather than personality affect tadpole deposition in a neotropical poison frog.

Animals constantly need to evaluate available external and internal information to make appropriate decisions. Identifying, assessing, and acting on relevant cues in contexts such as mate choice, intra-sexual competition, and parental care is particularly important for optimizing individual reproductive success. Several factors can influence decision-making, such as external environmental cues and the animal's own internal state, yet, we have limited knowledge on how animals integrate available information. Here, we used an entire island population (57 males, 53 females, and 1,109 tadpoles) of the neotropical brilliant-thighed poison frog Allobates femoralis to investigate how 2 factors (olfactory cues and personality traits) influence the ability of males to find and use new resources for tadpole deposition. We experimentally manipulated the location of tadpole deposition sites and their associated olfactory cues, and repeatedly measured exploration and boldness in adult males. We further reconstructed tadpole deposition choices via inferred parent-offspring relationships of adult frogs and tadpoles deposited in our experimental pools using molecular parentage analysis. We found that the discovery and use of new rearing sites were heavily influenced by olfactory cues; however, we did not find an effect of the measured behavioral traits on resource discovery and use. We conclude that in highly dynamic environments such as tropical rainforests, reliable external cues likely take priority over personality traits, helping individuals to discover and make use of reproductive resources

The Female Perspective of Mating in A. femoralis, a Territorial Frog with Paternal Care – A Spatial and Genetic Analysis

The adaptive significance of sequential polyandry is a challenging question in evolutionary and behavioral biology. Costs and benefits of different mating patterns are shaped by the spatial distribution of individuals and by genetic parameters such as the pairwise relatedness between potential mating partners. Thus, females should become less choosy as costs of mating and searching for mates increase. We used parentage assignments to investigate spatial and genetic patterns of mating across a natural population of the Neotropical frog Allobates femoralis, a species characterized by male territoriality and care and female iteroparity. There was no correlation between genetic and spatial distances between adult individuals across the population. In 72% of cases, females mated with males available within a radius of 20 m. Mean pairwise relatedness coefficients of successful reproducers did not differ from random mating but had a lower variance than expected by chance, suggesting maximal reproductive output at intermediate genetic divergence. We also found evidence for selection in favor of more heterozygous individuals between the embryo and adult stage. The level of sequential polyandry significantly increased with the number of spatially available males. Females that had more candidate males also produced more adult progeny. We hypothesize that the benefits associated with female multiple mating outweigh the costs of in- and outbreeding depression, and consequently precluded the evolution of ‘choosy’ mate selection in this species

Personality traits differentially affect components of reproductive success in a Neotropical poison frog.

Individual reproductive success has several components, including the acquisition of mating partners, offspring production, and offspring survival until adulthood. While the effects of certain personality traits-such as boldness or aggressiveness-on single components of reproductive success are well studied, we know little about the composite and multifaceted effects behavioural traits can have on all the aspects of reproductive success. Behavioural traits positively linked to one component of reproductive success might not be beneficial for other components, and these effects may differ between sexes. We investigated the influence of boldness, aggressiveness, and exploration on the number of mating partners, mating events, and offspring surviving until adulthood in males and females of the Neotropical poison frog Allobates femoralis. Behavioural traits had different-even opposite-effects on distinct components of reproductive success in both males and females. For example, males who displayed high levels of aggressiveness and exploration (or low levels of aggressiveness and exploration) managed to attract high number of mating partners, while males with low levels of boldness, low levels of aggressiveness, and high levels of exploration had the most offspring surviving until adulthood. Our results therefore suggest correlational selection favouring particular combinations of behavioural traits

Intrusion Experiments to Measure Territory Size: Development of the Method, Tests through Simulations, and Application in the Frog Allobates femoralis

Territoriality is a widespread behaviour in animals and its analysis is crucial in several areas of behavioural, ecological and evolutionary research. Commonly, territory size is assessed through territory mapping and the application of simple area estimators such as minimum convex polygons. In the present study we demonstrate that territory size can be determined adequately with an active approach through intrusion experiments, a technique that is commonly used in behavioural research in other contexts. Tests with simulated data indicate that a minimum of twelve trials needs to be performed to establish reliable orders of relative territory size. To estimate absolute territory size, detailed hull techniques are most appropriate when analyzing point patterns of intrusion experiments, while the local convex hull estimator enables the construction of internal utilization distributions based on such point patterns. Additionally we suggest a ‘stretch the centre’ approach to emphasize the actual process of intrusion experiments in the construction of internal utilization distributions. To demonstrate the utility of the method, we apply all findings from the simulations to data from fieldwork with the model species Allobates femoralis, a territorial aromobatid frog from the lowland rainforest of French Guiana

Mate choice in a promiscuous poison frog

In many animal species, members of one sex, most often females, exhibit a strong preference for mating partners with particular traits or resources. However, when females sequentially mate with multiple partners, strategies underlying female choice are not very well understood. Particularly, little is known if under such sequential polyandry females mate truly randomly, or if they actively try to spread mating events across multiple partners. In the present study, we used the highly promiscuous poison frog Allobates femoralis to investigate whether promiscuity could result from a preference for novel mates. Furthermore, we examined the importance of call characteristics for mate choice. We conducted mate choice experiments in a laboratory setup, by presenting females with recent mating partners or novel males. We recorded call characteristics of both males and the time females spent close to each male. In our trials, females preferred previous mating partners over novel males and also males with shorter advertisement calls. Results from previous studies on A. femoralis suggest that females in our trials recognized previous partners based on individual call characteristics. While mating decisions in the wild and in the laboratory might differ, our study provides first evidence for female mate choice in a poison frog with sequential polyandry

Demography and spatial activity of fire salamanders, Salamandra salamandra (Linnaeus, 1758), in two contrasting habitats in the Vienna Woods

Understanding population dynamics is vital in amphibian conservation. To compare demography and movements, we conducted a capture-recapture study over three spring seasons in two populations of Salamandra salamandra in the Vienna Woods. The study sites differ in topography, vegetation, and the type of breeding waters. Population density in a beech forest traversed by a stream was more than twice as high as in an oak-hornbeam forest with temporary pools. Movement distances were on average higher at the latter site whereas home range estimates were similar for both sites. The sexes did not differ significantly in the observed movement patterns at either site. Annual apparent survival was mostly high (~0.85), but the estimate for females from the low-density site was lower (~0.60), indicating a higher rate of emigration or mortality

Repeatable territorial aggression in a neotropical poison frog

Intra-specific aggressive interactions play a prominent role in the life of many animals. While studies have found evidence for repeatability in boldness, activity, and exploration in amphibians, we know relatively little about consistent among-individual variation in aggressiveness, despite its importance for male-male competition and territoriality. Amphibians, and Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) in particular, are highly suitable for investigating among-individual variation in aggressiveness, as most species exhibit strong territoriality in at least one of the sexes. In the present study, we aimed to fill this gap in knowledge, by investigating within- and between-individual variation in territorial aggression in a semi-natural population of the Neotropical poison frog Allobates femoralis (Dendrobatidae) in French Guiana. We conducted repeated, standardized behavioral tests to assess if the level of territorial aggression is consistent within and different between individuals. Further, we tested a possible link between body size and level of territorial aggression. We found moderate repeatability in territorial aggressiveness, but no link to age and/or body size. In conclusion, our study represents the first documentation of repeatable aggressive behavior in a territorial context in amphibians