Neural and sensory basis of homing behavior in the invasive cane toad, Rhinella marina

The behavioral, sensory, and neural bases of vertebrate navigation are primarily described in mammals and birds. However, we know much less about the navigational abilities and mechanisms of vertebrates that move on smaller scales, such as amphibians. To address this knowledge gap, we conducted an extensive field study on navigation in the cane toad, Rhinella marina. First, we performed a translocation experiment to describe how invasive toads in Hawaiʻi navigate home following displacements of up to one kilometer. Next, we tested the effect of olfactory and magnetosensory manipulations on homing, as these senses are most commonly associated with amphibian navigation. We found that neither ablation alone prevents homing, suggesting that toad navigation is multimodal. Finally, we tested the hypothesis that the medial pallium, the amphibian homolog to the hippocampus, is involved in homing. By comparing neural activity across homing and non-homing toads, we found evidence supporting the i..., This manuscript includes datasets related to cane toad (Rhinella marina) spatial movements, the effects of sensory manipulations on toad spatial movements, and brain activity during toad navigation acitvities. The following types of data are presented:
1) Toad metadata: HI 2022 Toad List.csv, TransToadInfo.csv, and Toads.csv contain information about individuals in the experiment. This includes ID, sex, size (mass and snout-vent-length), tagging date and times, sensory ablation information (whether an ablation happened, what type, when it was performed, and information about how many coordinate points post-ablation fall into the area the toad occupied pre-ablation), the toad experimental group, whether the toad homed or not, the field site where the toad was monitored, the date the toad was translocated, and the day the toad was euthanized. HI 2022 Toad List.csv is used in analysis of baseline spatial data, TransToadInfo.csv is used in analysis of trajectories post translocation, and To..., , # Neural and sensory basis of homing behavior in the invasive cane toad, *Rhinella marina*

In this study, we characterize homing behavior in invasive cane toads in Hawaii, test the effects of sensory manipulations on toad navigation, and characterize brain activity differences between homing and non-homing toads. This project has both field and laboratory components, so many methods were employed. In the field, radio telemetry was used to track toad baseline movements and to track toads following translocations of up to 1 km from their home area to observe if they were able to return home. In addition, we manipulated olfaction and magnetoreception in a subset of toads to test the effect of these senses on homing behavior. Finally, in the lab, we used pS6-immunohistochemistry to model differences in brain activity between homing, non-homing, and non-translocated toads, in order to identify brain regions associated with navigation behavior in amphibians. The datasets generated by these e...