Decoding and Discrimination of Chemical Cues and Signals: Avoidance of Predation and Competition during Parental Care Behavior in Sympatric Poison Frogs.

ABSTRACT: The evolution of chemical communication and the discrimination between evolved functions (signals) and unintentional releases (cues) are among the most challenging issues in chemical ecology. The accurate classification of inter- or intraspecific chemical communication is often puzzling. Here we report on two different communication systems triggering the same parental care behavior in the poison frog Ranitomeya variabilis. This species deposits its tadpoles and egg clutches in phytotelmata and chemically recognizes and avoids sites with both predatory conspecific and non-predatory heterospecific tadpoles (of the species Hyloxalus azureiventris). Combining chemical analyses with in-situ bioassays, we identified the molecular formulas of the chemical compounds triggering this behavior. We f

SUBMITTER: Schulte LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4488855 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature