Journal
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
Volume 11, Issue 13, Pages 9021-9038Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7741
Keywords
competition; niche partitioning; parental care; phytotelmata; poison frogs; tadpoles
Categories
Funding
- Investissement d'Avenir funds of the ANR (AnaEE France) [ANR-11-INBS-0001]
- Investissement d'Avenir funds of the ANR (Labex CEBA) [ANR-10-LABX-25-01]
- Academy of Finland [21000042021]
- European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant [835530]
- Lauren A. O'Connell
- Stanford University
- National Science Foundation [IOS-1845651)]
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The study found that tadpoles of Dendrobates tinctorius have high flexibility in adapting to a wide range of chemical and vertical gradients in pools. On the other hand, Allobates femoralis and Osteocephalus oophagus have more restricted deposition options, influenced primarily by factors such as pool height, water capacity, alkalinity, and salinity.
Many species of Neotropical frogs have evolved to deposit their tadpoles in small water bodies inside plant structures called phytotelmata. These pools are small enough to exclude large predators but have limited nutrients and high desiccation risk. Here, we explore phytotelm use by three common Neotropical species: Osteocephalus oophagus, an arboreal frog that periodically feeds eggs to its tadpoles; Dendrobates tinctorius, a tadpole-transporting poison frog with cannibalistic tadpoles; and Allobates femoralis, a terrestrial tadpole-transporting poison frog with omnivorous tadpoles. We found that D. tinctorius occupies pools across the chemical and vertical gradient, whereas A. femoralis and O. oophagus appear to have narrower deposition options that are restricted primarily by pool height, water capacity, alkalinity, and salinity. Dendrobates tinctorius tadpoles are particularly flexible and can survive in a wide range of chemical, physical, and biological conditions, whereas O. oophagus seems to prefer small, clear pools and A. femoralis occupies medium-sized pools with abundant leaf litter and low salinity. Together, these results show the possible niche partitioning of phytotelmata among frogs and provide insight into stressors and resilience of phytotelm breeders.
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