Evidence for individual vocal recognition in a pair-bonding poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator

Individually distinctive vocalizations are widespread in nature, although the ability of receivers to discriminate these signals has only been explored through limited taxonomic and social lenses. Here, we asked whether anuran advertisement calls, typically studied for their role in territory defense and mate attraction, facilitate recognition and preferential association with partners in a pair-bonding poison frog (Ranitomeya imitator). Combining no- and two-stimulus choice playback experiments, we evaluated behavioral responses of females to male acoustic stimuli. Virgin females oriented to and approached speakers broadcasting male calls independent of caller identity, implying that females are generally attracted to male acoustic stimuli outside the context of a pair bond. When pair-bonded females were presented with calls of a mate and a stranger, they showed significant preference for calls of their mate. Moreover, behavioral responses varied with breeding status: females with eggs..., This was a laboratory investigation of phonotaxis behavior and individual vocal recognition in a pair-bonding poison frog. Frogs were bred in a laboratory colony and virgin and pair-bonded (breeding) female subjects were assayed in an experimental arena within a soundproof chamber while male advertisement calls (also recorded in the laboratory) were broadcast from speakers. Video recordings of trials were scored blind in the behavioral analysis software, BORIS, and we quantified and compared the time spent in each arm of the arena to evaluate (1) how virgin females respond to a single acoustic stimulus (whether they preferentially spend time near the speaker), and (2) whether pair-bonded females show a preference for the speaker broadcasting calls of their mate as opposed to calls of a stranger. All behavioral data were analyzed in R. , , # Evidence for individual vocal recognition in a pair-bonding poison frog, Ranitomeya imitator

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This dataset contains all raw video scoring tabulations and relevant trial information used in the quantification and comparison of phonotaxis behavior in virgin and pair-bonded Ranitomeya imitator, contextualized in experimental procedures and results. Five files (described in detail below) collectively serve as inputs for the script, Phonotaxis_Final.R, which performs the statistical analyses.

## Description of the data and file structure

The file No Choice Trial Info.csv contains all information pertaining to the 40 no-choice trials conducted on virgin female R. imitator. Variables are as follows:

* Trial Number: A numeric designation given to the trial at the time of completion, in the order of completion.
* Female ID: ID of the female subject ('Ri.####')
* Focal Female: Coded experimental ID given to each of 9 subjects ('j1-9')
* Male ID: ID of male from which the stimul...