Marie Therese Fischer

All Publications

• Contrasting parental roles shape sex differences in poison frog space use but not navigational performance. eLife Pasukonis, A., Serrano-Rojas, S. J., Fischer, M., Loretto, M., Shaykevich, D. A., Rojas, B., Ringler, M., Roland, A. B., Marcillo-Lara, A., Ringler, E., Rodriguez, C., Coloma, L. A., O'Connell, L. A. 2022; 11

  Abstract

  Sex differences in vertebrate spatial abilities are typically interpreted under the adaptive specialization hypothesis, which posits that male reproductive success is linked to larger home ranges and better navigational skills. The androgen spillover hypothesis counters that enhanced male spatial performance may be a byproduct of higher androgen levels. Animal groups that include species where females are expected to outperform males based on life-history traits are key for disentangling these hypotheses. We investigated the association between sex differences in reproductive strategies, spatial behavior, and androgen levels in three species of poison frogs. We tracked individuals in natural environments to show that contrasting parental sex roles shape sex differences in space use, where the sex performing parental duties shows wider-ranging movements. We then translocated frogs from their home areas to test their navigational performance and found that the caring sex outperformed the non-caring sex only in one out of three species. In addition, males across species displayed more explorative behavior than females and androgen levels correlated with explorative behavior and homing accuracy. Overall, we reveal that poison frog reproductive strategies shape movement patterns but not necessarily navigational performance. Together this work suggests that prevailing adaptive hypotheses provide an incomplete explanation of sex differences in spatial abilities.

  View details for DOI 10.7554/eLife.80483

  View details for PubMedID 36377473

• Pool choice in a vertical landscape: Tadpole-rearing site flexibility in phytotelm-breeding frogs. Ecology and evolution Fouilloux, C. A., Serrano Rojas, S. J., Carvajal-Castro, J. D., Valkonen, J. K., Gaucher, P., Fischer, M. T., Pašukonis, A., Rojas, B. 2021; 11 (13): 9021-9038

  Abstract

  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.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ece3.7741

  View details for PubMedID 34257942

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC8258215

• Pool choice in a vertical landscape: Tadpole-rearing site flexibility in phytotelm-breeding frogs ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION Fouilloux, C. A., Serrano-Rojas, S., Carvajal-Castro, J., Valkonen, J. K., Gaucher, P., Fischer, M., Pasukonis, A., Rojas, B. 2021

  View details for DOI 10.1002/ece3.7741

  View details for Web of Science ID 000661518700001

• Reproductive behavior drives female space use in a sedentary Neotropical frog. PeerJ Fischer, M., Ringler, M., Ringler, E., Pasukonis, A. 2020; 8: e8920

  Abstract

  Longer-range movements of anuran amphibians such as mass migrations and habitat invasion have received a lot of attention, but fine-scale spatial behavior remains largely understudied. This gap is especially striking for species that show long-term site fidelity and display their whole behavioral repertoire in a small area. Studying fine-scale movement with conventional capture-mark-recapture techniques is difficult in inconspicuous amphibians: individuals are hard to find, repeated captures might affect their behavior and the number of data points is too low to allow a detailed interpretation of individual space use and time budgeting. In this study, we overcame these limitations by equipping females of the Brilliant-Thighed Poison Frog (Allobates femoralis) with a tag allowing frequent monitoring of their location and behavior. Neotropical poison frogs are well known for their complex behavior and diverse reproductive and parental care strategies. Although the ecology and behavior of the polygamous leaf-litter frog Allobates femoralis is well studied, little is known about the fine-scale space use of the non-territorial females who do not engage in acoustic and visual displays. We tracked 17 females for 6 to 17 days using a harmonic direction finder to provide the first precise analysis of female space use in this species. Females moved on average 1 m per hour and the fastest movement, over 20 m per hour, was related to a subsequent mating event. Traveled distances and activity patterns on days of courtship and mating differed considerably from days without reproduction. Frogs moved more on days with lower temperature and more precipitation, but mating seemed to be the main trigger for female movement. We observed 21 courtships of 12 tagged females. For seven females, we observed two consecutive mating events. Estimated home ranges after 14 days varied considerably between individuals and courtship and mating associated space use made up for 30% of the home range. Allobates femoralis females spent large parts of their time in one to three small centers of use. Females did not adjust their time or space use to the density of males in their surroundings and did not show wide-ranging exploratory behavior. Our study demonstrates how tracking combined with detailed behavioral observations can reveal the patterns and drivers of fine-scale spatial behavior in sedentary species.

  View details for DOI 10.7717/peerj.8920

  View details for PubMedID 32337103