The evolution of parental care, aposematism and color diversity in Neotropical poison frogs

Abstract

This Special Issue demonstrates the breadth of evolutionary ecology research occurring on Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatidae). It also draws attention to the incredible diversity of the poison frogs themselves (phenotypic, behavioral and taxonomic diversity) and this group's potential for research programs focusing on speciation, the evolution of toxicity, color pattern diversity, Mullerian and Batesian mimicry, sexual selection, mating systems and parental care. This Special Issue focused on two key research foci in the field of evolutionary ecology: (1) Understanding the interplay between ecology and the evolution of parental care and (2) Elucidating the ecological factors contributing to the evolution of toxicity, aposematism and color pattern diversity. In this paper, I summarize the major findings of studies presented in this Special Issue. Understanding the interplay between ecology and the evolution of parental care Parent poison frogs transport and subsequently deposit their tadpoles in pools of water. The evolutionary transition from terrestrial to smaller arboreal phytotelmata for tadpole deposition is thought to be driven by a reduction in competition and predation associated with smaller tadpole nurseries. This transition is considered a key evolutionary innovation, allowing access to relatively unexploited resources and facilitating the evolution of many novel breeding strategies. To date, there are only a few empirical examples in dendrobatids to support this hypothesis (Weygoldt 1980; Caldwell 1997; Brown et al. 2010). Field experimentation by McKeon and Summers (2013) present a more complete picture of the interactions between the natural history of Allobates femoralis and the tadpole predators present. Their results suggest that pool size, the presence of predatory insects and inter- actions between predators (and indirect effects on tadpoles) influence larval deposition in A. femoralis. Previous research on Ranitomeya species, a genus distantly related to Allobates, has demonstrated that adults also assess multiple aspects of reproductive resources to