# Random thought on pumilio and egg feeding



## garweft (Mar 11, 2008)

Before I get to far into this I need to make sure that I am actually clear on the pumilio breeding and tadpole feeding activities.

1) Male attracts female by calling, female lays eggs, male fertilizes eggs

2) After eggs hatch male transports tads to rearing area. (or do both male and female transport?)

3) Male then calls female to the rearing area where she lays feeder eggs for tad.

4) Male stands guard of eggs and tadpoles, female not so much

Am I thinking straight on these 4 areas. I am going somewhere with this but don't want to get to far ahead if I am wrong about the 4 things above.


----------



## frogparty (Dec 27, 2007)

Im pretty sure its female pums that transport


----------



## Suzanne (Dec 28, 2008)

I also believe that the male is not part of the parental raising. The female feeds the tads on her one. Lazy daddy just fertilizes and runs off!


----------



## gluedl (Oct 8, 2008)

Hi;

this is how I read about it and how i could observe it myself:


1) Male attracts female by calling, both rub the chosen place with their back legs, male and female sit back to back with backends touching ->spermdeposit (without amplexus), male leaves female then lays the eggs

1a) Male regularly comes back to water the eggs (not the female-the male pumilio actually does some work as do other male species on this planet 

2) After eggs hatch female transports tad(s) to rearing area. Male seems to observe and calls (personal observation)

3) Female lays feeder eggs for tad(s) while Male observes and calls (personal observation) 

Have a nice day

gluedl


----------



## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

gluedl said:


> Hi;
> 2) After eggs hatch female transports tad(s) to rearing area. Male seems to observe and calls (personal observation)
> 
> 3) Female lays feeder eggs for tad(s) while Male observes and calls (personal observation)


The male calling while the female is feeding the tadpoles is probably a artifact of how they are kept in captivity as in the wild, the tadpoles can be deposited a significant distance from the original lay site or even the male's territory. 

Ed


----------



## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

...very random indeed...


----------



## garweft (Mar 11, 2008)

Ok, nevermind then.

Was just wondering a few things about the eggs a female lays. Like if there is a difference between feeder eggs and eggs meant to be tadpoles.

Also was wondering if it was possible that more than 1 female could be feeding tads. But if the male isn't calling for them to lay feeder eggs then it's not really a possibility.


----------



## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

The feeder eggs are not fertilized. I have witnessed my female lay eggs for her tadpoles. The tadpole goes into a frenzy and tickles her hynie with its tail. My male was there calling a different call then usual, it was a chirp chirp call rather than a long call.


----------



## nathan (Jul 24, 2009)

I have a dvd called "Life in Cold Blood" , Hosted by David Attenborough, and in the amphibian episode it shows a male sitting on the brom with a tadpole and calls to a female, she eventually comes to the brom and he continues to call untill she lays an egg for the tad. Very interesting to me. I dont remember exactly what species it was I'll have to re-watch it. Its worth looking up if you can.

Just thought I would throw that out there, Maybe the different call you are hearing is the male trying to get the female to come feed the hungry tad??? Just a thought


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Here's another random thought...

Does taking the newly morphed froglet out of the parent's viv increase the likelyhood of egg production?


----------



## james67 (Jun 28, 2008)

nathan said:


> I have a dvd called "Life in Cold Blood" , Hosted by David Attenborough, and in the amphibian episode it shows a male sitting on the brom with a tadpole and calls to a female, she eventually comes to the brom and he continues to call untill she lays an egg for the tad. Very interesting to me. I dont remember exactly what species it was I'll have to re-watch it. Its worth looking up if you can.
> 
> Just thought I would throw that out there, Maybe the different call you are hearing is the male trying to get the female to come feed the hungry tad??? Just a thought


IMITATOR.

james


----------



## edwardsatc (Feb 17, 2004)

Philsuma said:


> Here's another random thought...
> 
> Does taking the newly morphed froglet out of the parent's viv increase the likelyhood of egg production?


Hi Phil,

The research suggest that when tadpoles are present there is a significant reduction in mating behavior.

Haase, A., Prohl, H. (2002) Female activity patterns and aggressiveness in the strawberry poison frog Dendrobates pumilio (Anura: Dendrobatidae). Amphibia-Reptilia , 23(2):129-140

"We observed that tadpole-rearing and mating activity are mutually exclusive behavioural states in a Costa Rican population. Tadpole-rearing females did not engage in courtship activity. Only non-rearing females courted. Non-rearing females occupied larger home ranges than tadpole-rearing females, which may be related to female selection of mates. For the first time aggressive female-female interactions were observed in the field. Tadpole-rearing females were significantly more aggressive than non-rearing females, especially in the vicinity of their offspring-rearing sites."

I have not come across anything in the literature with reference to froglets. I would suspect that the presence of froglets does not inhibit reproductive behavior as, at least in the natural world, the froglets quickly move on.

Some other interesting literature pertaining to the thread:

Graves, Brent M. , et al. (2005) Correlates of Vocal Display in a Costa Rican Population of Strawberry Poison-Dart Frogs, Dendrobates pumilio. Animal behavior 78 (6): 1351-1356

Stynoski, J.L . (2009) Discrimination of offspring by indirect recognition in an egg-feeding dendrobatid frog, Oophaga pumilio. Journal of Herpetology , 39 (1):101-107

>> finds that female pumilio do not discriminate amongst tadpoles by relatedness, but rather by location


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

edwardsatc said:


> I have not come across anything in the literature with reference to froglets. I would suspect that the presence of froglets does not inhibit reproductive behavior as, at least in the natural world, the froglets quickly move on.


Hi Ed,

Thanks for those cites. I think that in our small enclosures, where the froglet cannot move on, reproductive behaviour may be inhibited. 

I am removing all my Pum froglets, primarily to ensure they receive adequate food in the presence of the adults but I can't help but consider the reproductive issue of the adults.


----------



## Bcs TX (Sep 13, 2008)

Mine continue to lay eggs with the froglets and tads in the tank.
Personally, I would not jepardize the froglet by pulling it out of tank early for more egg production.


----------



## frogmanroth (May 23, 2006)

Bcs TX said:


> Mine continue to lay eggs with the froglets and tads in the tank.
> Personally, I would not jepardize the froglet by pulling it out of tank early for more egg production.


all that I have kept/keep continue to lay and raise, I will say the bigger tank(ground space)the better, it all depends on how much microfuna you have- how much food they have,

and i leave them 4-5 months with the parents


----------



## Philsuma (Jul 18, 2006)

Bcs TX said:


> Personally, I would not jepardize the froglet by pulling it out of tank early for more egg production.


What do you considered early?

What is the danger to the froglet?


----------

