Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2019
Publication Title
Toxicon
Abstract
Dendrobatid frogs sequester alkaloid defenses from dietary arthropods. Here, we provide experimental evidence that mother strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) provision alkaloids to tadpoles. Captive-raised females were fed the synthetic alkaloid decahydroquinoline (DHQ), which we subsequently quantified in their skin, eggs, and developing tadpoles. DHQ quantity was positively associated with tadpole mass/development, suggesting high sequestration rates by tadpoles. These data confirm that tadpoles obtain nutrition and alkaloids by feeding exclusively on maternally provisioned eggs.
Recommended Citation
Saporito, Ralph; Russell, Matthew W.; Richards-Zawacki, Corrine L.; and Dugas, Matthew D., "Experimental evidence for maternal provisioning of alkaloid defenses in a dendrobatid frog" (2019). 2019 Faculty Bibliography. 86.
https://collected.jcu.edu/fac_bib_2019/86
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.