Biology subjects

Podraza, M. E.

Publications and source records attributed to Podraza, M. E..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

Partner cues and individual variation underlie sex-reversed parental care in poison frogs

Flexible parental care strategies are widespread in nature and factor into conflict between the sexes and the realization of sex roles. While adaptive explanations abound, the mechanisms underlying flexible sex-reversal of care are less clear. We enlist a biparental frog (Ranitomeya imitator) with flexible parental care to investigate the extrinsic and intrinsic mechanisms underpinning parental decisions. Using mate removal experiments in the laboratory, we show that members of the primary caregiving sex (males) show less variation than the flexible sex (females) in their propensity to provide care, and that care propensity in females is affected by extrinsic partner cues as well as individual variability. Indeed, individual repeatability in parental effort is high in both typically caregiving and flexible parents. To investigate the underpinnings of differences in care propensity, we sequenced RNA from whole brains of caregiving and non-caregiving frogs of both sexes. While actively caregiving females showed minimal differential gene expression compared to actively caregiving males, females that failed to provide care showed distinct patterns of gene expression. Our findings offer an initial glimpse into the environmental and genetic regulation of individual variation in sex-reversed parental care.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2023

Evidence for individual vocal recognition in a pair bonding poison frog? Insights from no-choice and two-choice paradigms

Individually distinctive vocalizations are widespread in nature, although the ability of receivers to discriminate these signals has only been studied through limited taxonomic and social lenses. Here we ask whether anuran advertisement calls, typically studied for their role in territory defense and mate attraction, facilitate recognition and preferential association with partners in a pair bonding poison frog. Combining no- and two-stimulus choice playback experiments, we evaluated behavioral and physiological responses of females to male acoustic stimuli. Virgin females oriented to and approached speakers broadcasting male calls independent of caller identity, implying that females are generally attracted to male acoustic stimuli outside the context of a pair bond. When pair bonded females were presented with calls of a mate and a stranger, they showed a slight preference for calls of their mate. Moreover, behavioral responses varied with breeding status: females with eggs were faster to approach stimuli and spent more time in the mate arm than females that were pair bonded but did not currently have eggs. Our study suggests a potential role for individual vocal recognition in the formation and maintenance of pair bonds in a poison frog and raises new questions about how acoustic signals are perceived in the context of monogamy and biparental care.

animal behavior and cognition↗