Cross-Breeding of Distinct Color Morphs of the Strawberry Poison Frog (Dendrobates pumilio) from the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Panama

Abstract

Populations ascribed to Dendrobates pumilio, the Strawberry Poison Frog, show extreme variation in color and color pattern among island and mainland locations in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago in Panama. Previous analyses indicate that these different populations are probably members of a single species. Here we present data on crosses between several different color and color pattern morphs. Successful crosses were made between different morphs from seven populations: Bocas Island, Nancy Cay, Pope Island, Bastimentos Island, and Almirante, Rambala and the Aguacate Peninsula on the mainland. The resulting offspring were characterized for color and color pattern. Our study indicates that different color morphs can interbreed to produce viable offspring. The offspring typically displayed a mixture of colors but always showed color pattern if one parent showed color pattern. This suggests that color pattern is under single locus control with dominance, whereas coloration may be under polygenic control, or may represent a single locus system with incomplete dominance.