DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4m8
title: Data from: Behavioural mimicry among poison frogs diverges during close-range encounters with predators

description: Aposematic species signal their unpalatability to potential predators with
 recognisable, and frequently conspicuous, colour patterns. These visual
 signals are often also associated with bold behaviour and a reduced
 propensity to escape from approaching predators. Bold behaviours may act
 as an aversive signal and allow defended prey to avoid the
 energetic/opportunity costs that arise from fleeing predators. For
 Batesian mimics, non-defended species which replicate the colours of
 defended models, behavioural mimicry may also improve mimic fidelity and
 reduce energetic/opportunity costs. However, as predators may test the
 honesty of aposematic signals through sampling behaviour, Batesian mimics
 can be at high risk during close-range interactions with predators. This
 raises the question of whether/when Batesian mimics should deviate from
 behavioural mimicry and initiate more extensive escape behaviour. Here, we
 exposed the chemically defended poison frog Ameerega bilinguis and its
 (non-toxic) Batesian mimic Allobates zaparo to a simulated predator
 encounter. We predicted Al. zaparo would escape to a greater distance and
 in a more erratic manner than Am. bilinguis. Yet, contrary to our
 predictions, Al. zaparo did not flee far from predators. It was, however,
 more likely to initiate escape prior to physical contact from the
 predator. We suggest that bold behaviour coupled with pre-emptive movement
 allows Al. zaparo to retain the benefits of behavioural mimicry while
 reducing the likelihood that predators will test signal honesty. Our data
 highlight, that when examining the evolution of mimicry, we must consider
 both morphological and behavioural traits, as well as how risk to the prey
 may change how they behave throughout the predation sequence.
description: # Data from: Behavioural mimicry among poison frogs diverges during
 close-range encounters with predators
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4m8](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.bnzs7h4m8) ## Description of the data and file structure ### Files and variables #### File: EscapeData2019.txt **Description:**  Data required for Analyses 1-4 & S1 ('Total Jumps', 'Escape Distance', 'Escape Time', & 'Preemptive Jumps') See the main manuscript for further details. ##### Variables * file: The video file from which data were extracted * species: Species codes (ABI = Ameerega bilinguis, AZA = Allobates zaparo, AHY = Adenomera hylaedactyla) * individual: Unique numeric code for each individual frog * svl: Frog body length (snout-vent length) in mm * run: The experimental session (1 to 4 for each frog) * n_jumps: Total number of jumps performed during experimental run * n_jumps_preemptive: Total number of 'predator approaches' that resulted in preemptive movement (out of 5) * duration_s: Total time spent moving in seconds * mean_abs_angle_change_rad: Mean change in angle between jumps in radians (absolute value) * NA: where there is only 1 jump, there is no change in jump angle * mean_distance_px: Mean distance travelled per jump in pixels * jump_frequency_hz: The frequency of jumps in Hertz * vidres_x_px: Resolution of the video file in pixels (X axis) * vidres_y_px: Resolution of the video file in pixels (Y axis) * vidscale_px_per_mm: Resolution of the video file scaled in pixels per mm #### File: JumpAngleData2019.txt **Description:**  Data required for Analyses 5-6 ('Jump Angle' & 'Escape Trajectory') See the main manuscript for further details. ##### Variables * file: The video file from which data were extracted * species: Species codes (ABI = Ameerega bilinguis, AZA = Allobates zaparo, AHY = Adenomera hylaedactyla) * individual: Unique numeric code for each individual frog * run: The experimental session (1 to 4 for each frog) * jump_n: The number of each jump in the jump sequence * distance_px: Distance travelled during the jump in pixels * duration_s: Time spend in motion during the jump in seconds * angle_rad: Jump angle in radians relative to the starting point * angle_change_rad: Jump angle in radians relative to the previous jump * NA: the first jump in the sequence has no change in jump angle * start_x_px: Frog location at start of the jump (X coordinate in pixels) * start_y_px: Frog location at start of the jump (Y coordinate in pixels) * end_x_px: Frog location at end of the jump (X coordinate in pixels) * end_y_px: Frog location at end of the jump (Y coordinate in pixels) * start_time_s: Time at the beginning of the jump (seconds from start of recording) * end_time_s: Time at the end of the jump (seconds from start of recording) #### File: ABI\_VideoFiles.zip **Description:**  Original video files of the behavioural trials with *Ameerega bilinguis*. File names include the species (ABI = *Am. bilinguis*), individual species ID number, and round number (R1-4). There are 80 videos corresponding to 4 rounds for each of the 20 *Am. bilinguis.* #### File: AHY\_VideoFiles.zip **Description:**  Original video files of the behavioural trials with *Adenomera hylaedactyla*. File names include the species (AHY = *Ad. hylaedactyla*), individual species ID number, and round number (R1-4). There are 80 videos corresponding to 4 rounds for each of the 20 *Ad. hylaedactyla.* #### File: AZA\_VideoFiles.zip **Description:**  Original video files of the behavioural trials with *Allobates zaparo*. File names include the species (AZA = *Al. zaparo*), individual species ID number, and round number (R1-4). There are 80 videos corresponding to 4 rounds for each of the 20 *Al. zaparo.* ## Code/software ### ==== ESCAPE DATA - ANALYSES 1-4, S1 ==== Analyses of 'Total Jumps', 'Escape Distance', 'Escape Time', & 'Preemptive Jumps'. (See the main manuscript and Rmarkdown for further details) Data file: EscapeData2019.txt RMarkdown files: ``` Analysis 1 - Total number of jumps.Rmd | Analysis-1---Total-number-of-jumps.pdf Analysis 2 - Total distance.Rmd | Analysis-2---Total-distance.pdf Analysis 3 - Total time.Rmd | Analysis-3---Total-time.pdf Analysis 4 - Preemptive jumps.Rmd | Analysis-4---Preemptive-jumps.pdf Analysis S1 - BodyLength distance.Rmd | Analysis-S1---BodyLength-distance.pdf ``` A series of generalised linear mixed-effects models: Total Jumps (Poisson), Total Distance (log transformed, Gaussian), Escape Time (log transformed, Gaussian), and Preemptive Jumps (Binomial). Including the fixed effect of *species* and random effects of *frog ID* and *run* (*session number*). Total Jumps, Escape Time used functions *lmer* *or glmer* from R package lme4 v.1.1.34 (Bates et al., 2015). Escape Distance, Preemptive Jumps used function *glmmTMB* from R package glmmTMB v.1.1.8 (Brooks et al., 2017). Model assumptions were checked using the R package DHARMa v.0.4.6 (Hartig, 2022). Pairwise comparisons were conducted using the R package multcomp v.1.4.25 (Hothorn et al., 2008). ### ==== ESCAPE DATA - ANALYSES 5-6 ==== Analyses of 'Jump Angle' & 'Escape Trajectory' (See the main manuscript and Rmarkdown for further details) Data file: JumpAngleData2019.txt RMarkdown files: ``` Analysis 5 - Jump angle.Rmd | Analysis-5---Jump-angle.pdf Analysis 6 - Escape trajectory.Rmd | Analysis-6---Escape-trajectory.pdf ``` Bayesian circular mixed effects models using function *bpnme* from R package bpnreg v.2.0.3 (Cremers, 2024). Iterations = 5000. Burn in = 1000. Jump Angle (the absolute angle of each jump between 0º and 180º) in radians. Escape Trajectory (the overall escape direction between -180º and 180º) in radians. Models included the fixed effect of *species* and the random intercept of *frog ID.* References: Bates, D., Mächler, M., Bolker, B. & Walker, S. 2015. Fitting linear mixed-effects models using lme4. *Journal of Statistical Software* 67: 1 - 48. [https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01](https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v067.i01) Brooks, M. E., Kristensen, K., Benthem, K. J. v., Magnusson, A., Berg, C. W., Nielsen, A., Skaug, H. J., Mächler, M. & Bolker, B. M. 2017. glmmTMB balances speed and flexibility among packages for zero-inflated generalized linear mixed modeling. *The R Journal* 9: 378-400. Cremers, J. (2024) bpnreg: Bayesian projected normal regression models for circular data. R package version 2.0.3. [https://cran.r-project.org/package=bpnreg](https://cran.r-project.org/package=bpnreg) Hartig, F. (2022) DHARMa: Residual diagnostics for hierarchical (multi-level / mixed) regression models. R package version 0.4.6. [https://cran.r-project.org/package=DHARMa](https://cran.r-project.org/package=DHARMa) Hothorn, T., Bretz, F. & Westfall, P. 2008. Simultaneous inference in general parametric models. *Biometrical Journal* 50: 346-363. [https://doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200810425](https://doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200810425)