Behavioral Responses Buffer Seasonal Variation More Strongly than Endocrine and Chemical Responses in Poison Frogs

Serrano-Rojas S.J.; Pašukonis A.; Gonzalez M.; Rodriguez C.; Usto R.F.C.; Carazas Muñiz A.; García C.S.; Zolorzano J.P.; Arcila-Pérez L.F.; Boluarte-Salinas S.; Baldarrago E.D.; Sosa-Salazar A.; O’Connell L.A. · Integrative and Comparative Biology (2026) · DOI: 10.1093/icb/icag095

Resumen

Synopsis: Seasonal rainfall shapes biological responses in tropical ecosystems, yet how tropical organisms integrate behavioral and physiological responses to cope with seasonality remains poorly understood. We assessed how four poison frog species with contrasting reproductive strategies respond to dry and wet season environmental conditions. We quantified spatial behavior, microhabitat use, hormone release rates, and chemical defenses in two seasonal breeders (Allobates femoralis and Ameerega trivittata) and two year-round breeders (Ameerega macero and Ameerega shihuemoy). Seasonal breeders exhibited pronounced sex-specific shifts in space use, where males expanded their space use during the wet season, likely to track reproductive opportunities, while A. femoralis females increased their spatial use during the dry season, likely responding to foraging demands when prey resources are sparse. Year-round breeders maintained similar space use across seasons, likely reflecting their ability to access key resources within the same space to reproduce year-round. Microhabitat use was flexible, as seasonal breeders shifted toward humid refugia during the dry season and reproduction-associated microhabitats during the wet season, whereas year-round breeders selected microhabitats that facilitate continuous reproduction across seasons. Despite these behavioral responses, water-borne corticosterone and testosterone, as well as chemical defenses, showed no consistent seasonal variation, suggesting that behavioral responses may be partially decoupled from shifts in endocrine and chemical defenses. These results support a role for behavioral buffering in mediating responses to seasonal environmental variation. However, given the increasing unpredictability in rainfall timing and intensity as a result of climate change, how these coping strategies will function in the long term is uncertain. © The Author(s) 2026. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site-for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/pages/standard-publication-reuse-rights)

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos; Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina; Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco; Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal