Abstract
The conspecific attraction hypothesis predicts that individuals are attracted to conspecifics because conspecifics may be cues to quality habitat and/or colonists may benefit from living in aggregations. Poison frogs (Dendrobatidae) are aposematic, territorial, and visually oriented—three characteristics which make dendrobatids an appropriate model to test for conspecific attraction. In this study, we tested this hypothesis using an extensive mark‐recapture dataset of the strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) from La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. Data were collected from replicate populations in a relatively homogenous Theobroma cacao plantation, which provided a unique opportunity to test how conspecifics influence the spatial ecology of migrants in a controlled habitat with homogenous structure. We predicted that (1) individuals entering a population would aggregate with resident adults, (2) migrants would share sites with residents at a greater frequency than expected by chance, and (3) migrant home ranges would have shorter nearest‐neighbor distances (NND) to residents than expected by chance. The results were consistent with these three predictions: Relative to random simulations, we observed significant aggregation, home‐range overlap, and NND distribution functions in four, five, and six, respectively, of the six migrant–resident groups analyzed. Conspecific attraction may benefit migrant O. pumilio by providing cues to suitable home sites and/or increasing the potential for social interactions with conspecifics; if true, these benefits should outweigh the negative effects of other factors associated with aggregation. The observed aggregation between migrant and resident O. pumilio is consistent with conspecific attraction in dendrobatid frogs, and our study provides rare support from a field setting that conspecific attraction may be a relevant mechanism for models of anuran spatial ecology.
Highlights
| INTRODUCTION1997; Danchin, Boulinier, & Massot, 1998; Etterson 2003; Ward & Schlossberg, 2004; Austin, Neil, & Warren, 2017)
A controversial factor influencing habitat selection is the role that individuals play in shaping the distribution of conspecifics
We described seasonal variation in abundance by measuring population structure of O. pumilio, and we used the subsetted dataset to calculate the mean number of observed juveniles, females, and males across each plot
Summary
1997; Danchin, Boulinier, & Massot, 1998; Etterson 2003; Ward & Schlossberg, 2004; Austin, Neil, & Warren, 2017) Together, these studies suggest conspecific attraction may be a pervasive mechanism among diverse animal groups. The conspecific attraction hypothesis predicts that, across habitats of equivalent quality, naïve juveniles and migrating adults will preferentially colonize and associate in space with preestablished adults more frequently than expected by chance. We tested this prediction using a large mark-recapture dataset of a territorial and aposematic dendrobatid frog, Oophaga pumilio, at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We made three predictions about the spatial distribution of O. pumilio to test the conspecific attraction hypothesis: (1) individuals entering a population (i.e., demographic recruitment from births [juveniles] or migrating adults, hereafter, collectively “migrants”) would aggregate around resident adults rather than distributing themselves in a random or uniform distribution relative to residents, (2) migrants would share sites with residents at a higher frequency than expected by chance, and (3) home-range locations of migrants and residents would have nearest- neighbor distances consistent with aggregation
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
