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 HawaiÊ»i 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...脊椎动物导航的行为、感知与神经基础，现有研究主要以哺乳类和鸟类为核心对象展开描述。然而，对于移动尺度更小的脊椎动物（如两栖类）的导航能力与机制，我们的认知仍存在显著空白。为填补这一知识缺口，我们针对海蟾蜍（*Rhinella marina*）的导航行为开展了大规模野外研究。首先，我们实施了异地移放实验，以记录夏威夷的入侵性海蟾蜍在被位移至多1公里后，如何返回其栖息地。其次，我们测试了嗅觉与磁感知操控对归巢行为的影响——这两类感知通常被认为与两栖类导航功能关联最为紧密。研究结果显示，单一的感知损毁操作均无法阻断蟾蜍的归巢行为，这表明海蟾蜍的导航模式属于多模态整合机制。最后，我们验证了“内侧皮层（medial pallium）作为两栖类的海马体同源脑区，参与归巢行为调控”这一假说。通过对比归巢与非归巢蟾蜍的神经活动，我们获得了支持该假说的初步证据……本手稿涵盖与海蟾蜍（*Rhinella marina*）空间移动、感知操控对其空间移动的影响，以及蟾蜍导航过程中的脑活动相关的数据集。本次公开的数据类型如下： 1) 蟾蜍元数据：HI 2022 Toad List.csv、TransToadInfo.csv与Toads.csv收录了本实验中个体的相关信息，包括个体ID、性别、体型（体重与吻肛长）、标记日期与时间、感知损毁信息（是否实施损毁操作、损毁类型、实施时间，以及消融后坐标点落入蟾蜍消融前活动区域的数量）、蟾蜍所属实验组别、是否成功归巢、监测的野外样地、蟾蜍被异地移放的日期，以及蟾蜍被处死的日期。其中，HI 2022 Toad List.csv用于基线空间数据分析，TransToadInfo.csv用于移放后轨迹分析，Toads.csv…… # 入侵性海蟾蜍（*Rhinella marina*）归巢行为的神经与感知基础 本研究旨在表征夏威夷入侵海蟾蜍的归巢行为，测试感知操控对其导航行为的影响，并剖析归巢与非归巢蟾蜍的脑活动差异。本项目兼具野外与实验室研究组分，因此采用了多种实验方法。野外阶段，我们利用无线电遥测技术追踪蟾蜍的基线移动轨迹，并在将蟾蜍从其栖息地异地移放至多1公里后，追踪其移动情况以观测是否能够成功返回栖息地。此外，我们对部分蟾蜍实施了嗅觉与磁接收能力的操控实验，以验证这两类感知在归巢行为中的作用。最后，在实验室中，我们采用pS6免疫组织化学技术，对比归巢、非归巢与未移放蟾蜍的脑活动差异，以期识别两栖类导航行为相关的脑区。本研究产生的数据集……