Poison frogs rely on vision for homing in natural environments

Neotropical poison frogs (Dendrobatoidea) can navigate back to their territories after large passive displacements. However, the underlying sensory mechanisms remain largely unknown. Dendrobatoids use simple visual stimuli for navigation in confined laboratory experiments, but larger movements under natural conditions are likely to be more challenging. Tropical forests have dense vegetation that creates cluttered and confusing visual environments. Here, we investigated visual cues and navigation of territory-holding male strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) in tropical forests. First, we displaced frogs and blocked different aspects of their visual surroundings at the release site. To orient successfully, frogs required information from the lower half of the visual field, but not from the sky or canopy. Second, we displaced males in forested or open areas and characterized their homing trajectories according to visual information using 360° photos. Homing success was higher and fas..., , # Data from: Poison frogs rely on vision for homing in natural environments

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.msbcc2gb7](10.5061/dryad.msbcc2gb7)

## Description of the data and file structure

This study investigates the use of visual cues for navigation of territory-holding male strawberry poison frogs (*Oophaga pumilio*) in tropical forests and quantifies the orientation behavior and homing trajectories according to visual information.

Experiment 1:  To determine whether male *O. pumilio* use certain components of the visual, we displaced males 8 m away from their territory and experimentally manipulated visual information. Each frog experienced one of four possible experimental conditions that differed in the visual information available at the release site (covered sky and canopy, covered panorama, all-covered and control . 

Experiment 2:  We investigated whether homing performance differs between sites with different visual complexity (Forest or Open areas). We displaced males 8 m a...,