Poison Dart Frog Research Paper

Tropical rainforests are packed with complex interactions between the animals and plants that inhabit them. Among these animals and plants are the poison dart frog and bromeliads, they are both families of great variety with species that interact with each other (Ryan, 438). The majority of the research focused on the frogs and how their parental strategies, and related behaviors, were shaped by their choice of phytotelmata. As this is a narrow topic, almost all of the papers cited make a reference to another of the citations in this paper. In research about the frogs, there is a back and forth of citation. Each references either another citation for this paper or another work by one of the authors. This paper will explore the families in question, …show more content…
Living in the tropical rainforest, they are typically aposematic, showing bright colors to help predators associate their color with their toxicity. They are small frogs, one of the largest species is Dendrobates tinctorius, which can only grow to be around 53 mm in length (Rojas, 552). They eat insects when mature, and can be either generalist or specialist feeders when tadpoles (Brown, 439). Generalist tadpoles will eat anything from detritus, algae, and invertebrates to other tadpoles and eggs (Poelman, 664). Some species are obligate oophages and must be fed eggs to survive (Ryan, 439). They can contribute to their host plants by eating their pests, and providing nitrogen and other nutrients to the plants (Romero …show more content…
Within Dendrobatidae there is a wide variety of parental care types; uniparental, biparental, male care, and female care in multiple combinations (1142). These clutches can vary in size, from 1 to 13 eggs, depending on the parenting strategy (Poelman, 664; Ryan, 438). Eggs are generally laid in leaf litter or bromeliad tanks and protected by one parent (Brown, 1142). Upon hatching from the eggs, one parent will transport the tadpoles to small bodies of water to fully mature (1142). Care beyond tadpole deposition depends upon the species, some species will provide no further care and other species will feed the tadpoles or move them to another pool (Ryan, 438-9). Different species show varying levels of dependence on bromeliads. Some will spend their entire lives on a bromeliad; mating, laying eggs, raising tadpoles, and taking shelter within the leaves of the bromeliad (Romero, 942). Other species will use bromeliads only as a shelter during the day or for a single phase of development (942). Bromeliads are not the sole providers of phytotelmata that can be used by some species, they could be in tree bends, large leaves, or other plants (Rojas,

Show More

Related Documents: Poison Dart Frog Research Paper

Survival In The Amazon Essay