Contrasting parental roles shape sex differences in poison frog space use but not navigational performance

• DOI: 10.7554/elife.80483
• Publication Date: 2022-11-15T00:00:28Z
• Authors: Andrius Pašukonis; Shirley Jennifer ...; Marie-Therese Fis...; Matthias-Claudio ...; Daniel A Shaykevich; Bibiana Rojas; Max Ringler; Alexandre B Roland; Alejandro Marcill...; Eva Ringler; Camilo Rodríguez; Luis A Coloma; Lauren A O'Connell
• Keywords: Male; 0106 biological sciences; 0301 basic medicine; QH301-705.5; sammakot; Science; Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; sukupuolierot; paikkatietoanalyysi; 000 Computer science, knowledge & systems; 106051 Verhaltensbiologie; Allobates femoralis; eläinten käyttäytyminen; 01 natural sciences; Animals; Male; Female; Sex Characteristics; Poisons; Androgens; Anura; Spatial Navigation; General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology; 03 medical and health sciences; Sex Factors; ddc:630; Animals; Biology (General); Ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia; 10. No inequality; adaptive specialization hypothesis; testosterone spillover; amphibians; General Immunology and Microbiology; Oophaga sylvatica; lisääntymiskäyttäytyminen; Ecology; Behavior, Animal; General Neuroscience; evolutionary biology; Q; R; General Medicine; 106051 Behavioural biology; ddc:; elinpiirit (biologia); adaptive specialization hypothesis ; Allobates femoralis ; amphibians ; Dendrobates tinctorius ; ecology ; evolutionary biology ; Oophaga sylvatica ; testosterone spillover; Dendrobates tinctorius; Androgens; 570 Life sciences; biology; 590 Animals (Zoology); Medicine; ta1181; Female; ecology; Anura

Sex differences in vertebrate spatial abilities are typically interpreted under the adaptive specialization hypothesis, which posits that male reproductive success is linked to larger home ranges and better navigational skills. The androgen spillover hypothesis counters that enhanced male spatial performance may be a byproduct of higher androgen levels. Animal groups that include species where females are expected to outperform males based on life-history traits are key for disentangling these hypotheses. We investigated the association between sex differences in reproductive strategies, spatial behavior, and androgen levels in three species of poison frogs. We tracked individuals in natural environments to show that contrasting parental sex roles shape sex differences in space use, where the sex performing parental duties shows wider-ranging movements. We then translocated frogs from their home areas to test their navigational performance and found that the caring sex outperformed the non-caring sex only in one out of three species. In addition, males across species displayed more explorative behavior than females and androgen levels correlated with explorative behavior and homing accuracy. Overall, we reveal that poison frog reproductive strategies shape movement patterns but not necessarily navigational performance. Together this work suggests that prevailing adaptive hypotheses provide an incomplete explanation of sex differences in spatial abilities.