Data from: 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 faster in open areas, where frogs also showed better initial
orientations and lower meandering. We show that low-level visual panoramas
in open areas contain more directional information than in closed forests,
which could explain these navigational differences. Our results shed light
on the mechanisms by which frogs navigate natural environments.