Ecological and behavioral correlates of homing performance in the egg-feeding poison frog Oophaga histrionica

Homing is the ability to return to previously visited sites, often to the home range. Most studies have focused on the mechanisms used to home, but few have addressed the cost-benefit analysis of homing behavior, e.g., by testing for associations between homing performance and ecological factors. We aimed to study homing ability in males of the poison frog Oophaga histrionica, by testing the general hypothesis that homing performance depends upon potential indicators of territory quality or the risk of losing it. First, we tested whether return time was related to displacement distance, body size, number of courtships during the previous month, or distance to nearest neighbors. 38 out of the 39 displaced males homed, and time to return was inversely related to displacement distance, yet not related to any of the other ecological variables tested. In a second experiment, we tested whether males’ homing performance was affected by adding or removing acoustic cues, to simulate changes in the number, identity, and spatial distribution of neighbors. All of the 41 displaced males homed; 78% homed within six hours, and the remaining 22% returned after six hours. Among the former, males exposed to additional loudspeakers (e.g., neighbors) within their territories and to a loudspeaker broadcasting from their very calling perch (replacement treatment), were found significantly closer to the capture site than males in other treatments. Our results thus indicate that the homing performance of males is affected by the perceived risk of being displaced from their territories.