Warning signal properties covary with toxicity but not testosterone or aggregate carotenoids in a poison frog

Crothers, Laura; Saporito, Ralph A.; Yeager, Justin; Lynch, Kathleen S.; Friesen, Caitlin N.; Richards‐Zawacki, Corinne L.; McGraw, Kevin J.; Cummings, Molly E.

doi:10.1007/s10682-016-9830-y

Cited by 23 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…Whether strawberry poison frogs alter their brightness or coloration during courtship, which could be an alternative explanation for the observed differences between courting and single animals in Sarapiquí, cannot be detected with the method applied in this study and thus warrants further attention. Skin brightness could be correlated with reproductive hormone levels; but a recent study with male O. pumilio on Solarte (Panama) found no correlation between male dorsal brightness and circulating testosterone levels (Crothers et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating status correlates with dorsal brightness in some but not all poison frog populations

Dreher

Rodríguez

Cummings

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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Sexual signals are important for intraspecific communication and mate selection, but their evolution may be driven by both natural and sexual selection, and stochastic processes. Strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) show strong color divergence among populations, but coloration also varies among individuals of the same population. The importance of coloration for female mate choice has been studied intensely, and sexual selection seems to affect color divergence in strawberry poison frogs. However, the effect of coloration on mating success under field conditions has received very little attention. Furthermore, few studies examined how phenotypic variation among individuals of the same color morph affects mate selection under natural conditions. We measured the spectral reflectance of courting and noncourting individuals and their background substrates in three geographically separated populations. In one population (Sarapiquí, Costa Rica), we found that naturally occurring courting pairs of males and females had significantly brighter dorsal coloration than individual males and females not engaged in courtship interactions. Our field observations suggest that, in the wild, females prefer brighter males while the reason for the higher courtship activity of brighter females remains unclear. Overall our results imply that brightness differences among individuals of the same color morph may actually affect reproductive success in some populations of strawberry poison frogs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating status correlates with dorsal brightness in some but not all poison frog populations

Dreher

Rodríguez

Cummings

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…The strong selective pressure to avoid these well‐defended frogs may encourage predator generalization, such that predators may broadly avoid prey that resembles the Solarte morph, even if there is variation in their warning signals. The frogs could thus maintain effective visual deterrents to predation while reducing their investment in coloration (Crothers et al ). This situation draws parallels with Z. filipendulae , which are also very conspicuous and especially toxic among Lepidoptera (Rothschild et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Crothers et al. ). Models attempting to reconcile these observations have focused on the economics of signal and defence, proposing that correlations or disjunctions in the costs of these two strategic components of aposematism will shape the relationship between them, with honesty arising when costs increase in parallel (Speed and Ruxton ).…”

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confidence: 97%

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Sex differences but no evidence of quantitative honesty in the warning signals of six-spot burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulaeL.)*

et al. 2018

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The distinctive black and red wing pattern of six‐spot burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulae, L.) is a classic example of aposematism, advertising their potent cyanide‐based defences. While such warning signals provide a qualitatively honest signal of unprofitability, the evidence for quantitative honesty, whereby variation in visual traits could provide accurate estimates of individual toxicity, is more equivocal. Combining measures of cyanogenic glucoside content and wing color from the perspective of avian predators, we investigate the relationship between coloration and defences in Z. filipendulae, to test signal honesty both within and across populations. There were no significant relationships between mean cyanogenic glucoside concentration and metrics of wing coloration across populations in males, yet in females higher cyanogenic glucoside levels were associated with smaller and lighter red forewing markings. Trends within populations were similarly inconsistent with quantitative honesty, and persistent differences between the sexes were apparent: larger females, carrying a greater total cyanogenic glucoside load, displayed larger but less conspicuous markings than smaller males, according to several color metrics. The overall high aversiveness of cyanogenic glucosides and fluctuations in color and toxin levels during an individual's lifetime may contribute to these results, highlighting generally important reasons why signal honesty should not always be expected in aposematic species.

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“…Processes not involving predation can also be operating in this system. For example, differences in prey communities between versants could influence the availability of dietary precursors of skin pigments (e.g., carotenoids, purines, flavins or melanin; Crothers et al., ; Goodwin, ; Kodric‐Brown, ), making yellow pigmentation less costly to produce in some populations than in others. The diet of red populations of A. bombetes is mainly based on small invertebrates, especially mites, ants and springtails (Gómez‐Hoyos et al., ; Rodríguez, ), and there appears to be very little variation among localities.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Different colour morphs of the poison frog Andinobates bombetes (Dendrobatidae) are similarly effective visual predator deterrents

2018

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Aposematism is the use of warning signals to advertise unpleasant or dangerous defences to potential predators. As the effectiveness of this strategy depends on predator learning, little variation is expected in aposematic warning signals, as similar signals facilitate predator learning. However, warning signals are frequently variable in aposematic species. Such variability could arise as a result of geographic variation in the interpretation that local predators give warning signals. We tested this divergent learning hypothesis in the polytypic poison frog Andinobates bombetes (Anura: Dendrobatidae), focusing on visual predators. Our study was conducted in two populations of this species located in the Western Andes of Colombia, where individuals at some localities exhibit red dorsolateral stripes, while those in others exhibit yellow dorsolateral stripes. We deployed paraffin models imitating both forms of A. bombetes in size and colouration, as well as dull‐coloured controls, at sites inhabited by either red‐striped or yellow‐striped frogs. Red and yellow models were attacked at similar rates at both sites, and brown models were attacked more frequently at one of the sites. These results suggest that red and yellow colourations function as similarly effective aposematic signals for primarily visual predators, regardless of the form previously experienced by these predators. Therefore, our results do not support the hypothesis of divergent predator learning as a driver of the polytypism present in this species. Finally, we discuss other mechanisms that may be involved in the evolution and maintenance of this polytypism.

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Warning signal properties covary with toxicity but not testosterone or aggregate carotenoids in a poison frog

Cited by 23 publications

References 74 publications

Mating status correlates with dorsal brightness in some but not all poison frog populations

Mating status correlates with dorsal brightness in some but not all poison frog populations

Sex differences but no evidence of quantitative honesty in the warning signals of six-spot burnet moths (Zygaena filipendulaeL.)*

Different colour morphs of the poison frog Andinobates bombetes (Dendrobatidae) are similarly effective visual predator deterrents

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