THE EVOLUTION OF FEMALE PARENTAL CARE IN POISON FROGS OF THE GENUS DENDROBATES : EVIDENCE FROM MITOCHONDRIAL DNA SEQUENCES

We used nucleotide sequences from portions of the mitochondrial cytochrome b, cytochrome oxidase I and 16s rRNA gene regions to evaluate phylogenetic relationships within the genus Dendrobates, a group of neotropical poison frogs with complex parental behaviors. Mapping of parental care behaviors on the phylogenetic tree derived from the molecular analysis suggests that female-only care has evolved once within Dendrobates, after passing through a biparental stage involving male egg attendance and female tadpole transport and feeding. Phylogenetic analysis also suggests that female provisioning behaviors observed in some Amazonian species of poison frogs may have arisen independently from male care in this genus. Low levels of divergence between groups from Central and South America may have speciated relatively recently (after the formation of the current Panamanian land bridge in the Pliocene).