DOI: 10.5061/dryad.sf211
title: Data from: Induced parental care in a poison frog: a tadpole cross-fostering experiment

description: Understanding the external stimuli and natural contexts that elicit
 complex behaviours, such as parental care, is key in linking behavioural
 mechanisms to their real-life function. Poison frogs provide obligate
 parental care by shuttling their tadpoles from terrestrial clutches to
 aquatic nurseries, but little is known about the proximate mechanisms that
 control these behaviours. In this study, we used Allobates femoralis, a
 poison frog with predominantly male parental care, to investigate whether
 tadpole transport can be induced in both sexes by transferring unrelated
 tadpoles to the backs of adults in the field. Specifically, we asked
 whether the presence of tadpoles on an adult's back can override the
 decision-making rules preceding tadpole pick-up and induce the recall of
 spatial memory necessary for finding tadpole deposition sites. We used
 telemetry to facilitate accurate tracking of individual frogs and spatial
 analysis to compare movement trajectories. All tested individuals
 transported their foster-tadpoles to water pools outside their home area.
 Contrary to our expectation, we found no sex difference in the likelihood
 to transport or in the spatial accuracy of finding tadpole deposition
 sites. We reveal that a stereotypical cascade of parental behaviours that
 naturally involves sex-specific offspring recognition strategies and the
 use of spatial memory can be manipulated by experimental placement of
 unrelated tadpoles on adult frogs. As individuals remained inside their
 home area when only the jelly from tadpole-containing clutches was brushed
 on the back, we speculate that tactile rather than chemical stimuli
 trigger these parental behaviours.
description: Spreadsheet: Tracking
 data of tadpole group frogsTracking points
 spreadsheet of tadpole group frogsRaw_tracking_data_tadpolegroup.csvSpreadsheet: Tracking data of jelly group frogsTracking points spreadsheet of tadpole group frogsRaw_tracking_data_jellygroup.csvSpreadsheet: deposition site locationsDeposition sites locations in the study areaRaw_data_deposition site locations.csvGIS shapefile: tadpole group pointsGIS shapefile of tadpole group frog pointsGIS_shapefile_tadpole group_points.zipGIS shapefile: tadpole group linesGIS shapefile of tadpole group frog trajectory linesGIS_shapefile_tadpole group_lines.zipGIS shapefile: jelly group pointsGIS shapefile of jelly group frog pointsGIS_shapefile_jelly group_points.zipGIS shapefile: jelly group linesGIS shapefile of jelly group frog trajectory linesGIS_shapefile_jelly group_lines.zipGIS shapefile: deposition sitesGIS shapefile of tadpole deposition sites in the study areaGIS_shapefile_deposition sites.zipSupplementary Table 1: induced transport per individualSpatio-temporal variables of induced tadpole transport per individual.Pasukonis etal_induced parental care_TableS1.pdfPhotograph of A. femoralis tadpoles inside egg-jellyPhotograph showing A. femoralis tadpoles hatched inside egg-jelly before the tadpole adding procedure.Pasukonis_etal_induced_parental_care_FigS1..docxSupplementary movie 1: natural transportMovie showing the cascade of behaviors involved in natural tadpole transport.Movie S1_natural_tadpole_transport_compressed.mp4Supplementary movie 2: induced transportMovie showing the induced tadpole transport.Movie S2_induced_tadpole_transport_compressed.mp4