Conspecific and Predator Perception of the Red Oophaga pumilio Morph from the Central Caribbean of Costa Rica
Strawberry Poison Frogs (Oophaga pumilio) are common members of leaf litter lowland communities in Central America and exhibit several color morphs throughout their distribution. Color plays a determinant role during intra- and intermorph interactions in many insular populations, but little is known about the variation and perception of visual signals in mainland populations. In this study, we investigated color variation of four body parts—head, back, belly, and throat—in a bright red O. pumilio population of northeastern Costa Rica. We incorporated frog- and bird-specific visual modeling to evaluate the differences in color and brightness between the sexes, from the perspective of conspecifics and avian predators. Furthermore, we measured the color and brightness contrast against natural backgrounds commonly used by these frogs to forage and patrol within territories. Our results revealed that, from the perspective of conspecifics, there is no dichromatism between males and females. However, females had a greater contrast against green and brown backgrounds than males. The bird visual models indicated that males and females are highly conspicuous against common background substrates but that females are easier to detect than males. This study detailing color variants between sexes within a mainland population of O. pumilio contributes to our understanding of color differences in populations of this species.ABSTRACT
Color variation of dorsal and ventral patches between sexes of Oophaga pumilio in the Costa Rican Mid-Caribbean. (A–C) Adult females. (B–D) Adult males (notice the dark gular patch in the throat region).
Aggregated reflectance in male and female across four body patches (head, back, throat, and belly) of Oophaga pumilio in Veragua Rainforest, Costa Rican Mid-Caribbean. Curves represent average reflectance of both sexes in the study site. Gray areas depict the variation between individuals.
Raw data used to generate the average spectral curves of the head, back, throat, and belly from males and females of red-bright morphs of Oophaga pumilio.
Sexual dichromatism of Oophaga pumilio, quantified from the perspective of conspecifics and birds with a visual system sensitive in the UV. The dotted line indicates 1 JND, the minimum required for contrasts to be perceptually different. The error bars are 95% CIs generated by a bootstrapping procedure, and the asterisks (*) indicate contrasts that are significantly different based on a PERMANOVA.
Chromatic and achromatic contrasts of the colors of males (top) and females (bottom) against brown backgrounds as perceived by Oophaga pumilio conspecifics and birds with a visual system sensitive in the UV. The dotted line indicates 1 JND, the minimum required for contrasts to be perceptually different. The error bars are 95% CIs generated by a bootstrapping procedure, and the asterisks (*) indicate contrasts that are significantly different based on a PERMANOVA.
Chromatic and achromatic contrasts of the colors of males (top) and females (bottom) against green backgrounds as perceived by Oophage pumilio conspecifics and birds with a visual system sensitive in the UV. The dotted line indicates 1 JND, the minimum required for contrasts to be perceptually different. The error bars are 95% CIs generated by a bootstrapping procedure, and the asterisks (*) indicate contrasts that are significantly different based on a PERMANOVA.
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