TY - JOUR TI - Contrasting parental roles shape sex differences in poison frog space use but not navigational performance AU - Pašukonis, Andrius AU - Serrano-Rojas, Shirley Jennifer AU - Fischer, Marie-Therese AU - Loretto, Matthias-Claudio AU - Shaykevich, Daniel A AU - Rojas, Bibiana AU - Ringler, Max AU - Roland, Alexandre B AU - Marcillo-Lara, Alejandro AU - Ringler, Eva AU - Rodríguez, Camilo AU - Coloma, Luis A AU - O'Connell, Lauren A A2 - Perry, George H A2 - Clint, Edward VL - 11 PY - 2022 DA - 2022/11/15 SP - e80483 C1 - eLife 2022;11:e80483 DO - 10.7554/eLife.80483 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.80483 AB - 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. KW - Allobates femoralis KW - Dendrobates tinctorius KW - Oophaga sylvatica KW - adaptive specialization hypothesis KW - testosterone spillover KW - amphibians JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -