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Dryad

Correlates of homing performance in Oophaga histrionica

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Nov 21, 2023 version files 16.22 KB

Abstract

Homing is the ability to return to previously visited sites, often to the home range. Most studies have focused on the mechanisms used to home, but few have addressed the cost-benefit analysis of homing behavior, e.g., by testing for associations between homing performance and ecological factors. We aimed to study homing ability in males of the poison frog, Oophaga histrionica, by testing the general hypothesis that homing performance depends upon potential indicators of territory quality or the risk of losing it. First, we tested whether return time was related to displacement distance, body size, number of courtships during the previous month, or distance to nearest neighbors. All males homed and males that were displaced 10 meters (m) from their territories returned significantly faster than males displaced 25 or 40 m. Yet none of the ecological variables affected homing ability. In a second experiment, we tested whether males’ homing performance was affected by adding or removing acoustic cues, simulating changes in the number, identity, and spatial distribution of neighbors. Most displaced males homed within six hours, and males exposed to additional loudspeakers (i.e., neighbors) within their territories homed more accurately than other males. Our results indicate that the homing performance of males is affected by the perceived risk of being displaced from their territories.