eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 2022 Contrasting parental roles shape sex differences in poison frog space use but not navigational performance CC BY 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Pašukonis, Andrius (Vilnius University Life Sciences Center / University of Montpellier / Stanford University) O'Connell, Lauren A. (Stanford University) Serrano-Rojas, Shirley Jennifer (Stanford University / Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco) Fischer, Marie-Therese (Stanford University) Coloma, Luis A. (Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios) Rodríguez, Camilo (University of Vienna) Ringler, Eva (University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna / University of Bern) Marcillo-Lara, Alejandro (Oklahoma State University / Centro Jambatu de Investigación y Conservación de Anfibios) Roland, Alexandre B. (CNRS - Paul Sabatier University) Rojas, Bibiana (University of Bern / University of Music and Performing Arts Graz / University of Vienna) Shaykevich, Daniel A. (Stanford University) Loretto, Matthias-Claudio (Technical University of Munich / Berchtesgaden National Park) doi:10.7554/eLife.80483 https://phaidra.vetmeduni.ac.at/o:1688 application/pdf eLife 11 (2022) Sex differences in vertebrate spatial abilities are typically interpreted under the adaptive specialization hypothesis, which posits that male reproductive success is linked to larger home ranges and better navigational skills. The androgen spillover hypothesis counters that enhanced male spatial performance may be a byproduct of higher androgen levels. Animal groups that include species where females are expected to outperform males based on life-history traits are key for disentangling these hypotheses. We investigated the association between sex differences in reproductive strategies, spatial behavior, and androgen levels in three species of poison frogs. We tracked individuals in natural environments to show that contrasting parental sex roles shape sex differences in space use, where the sex performing parental duties shows wider-ranging movements. We then translocated frogs from their home areas to test their navigational performance and found that the caring sex outperformed the non-caring sex only in one out of three species. In addition, males across species displayed more explorative behavior than females and androgen levels correlated with explorative behavior and homing accuracy. Overall, we reveal that poison frog reproductive strategies shape movement patterns but not necessarily navigational performance. Together this work suggests that prevailing adaptive hypotheses provide an incomplete explanation of sex differences in spatial abilities. eng article Animals; Male; Female; Sex Characteristics; Poisons; Androgens; Anura; Spatial Navigation