[3] Its natural habitat is lowland and submontane rainforest; it can, however, survive in moderately degraded areas, at least in the more humid parts of its range.

For example, the Bilsa Biological Station (operated by the Jatun Sacha Foundation) boasts three color morphs—red, yellow, and orange—within their 3000-ha protected area located within Ecuador's Mache and Chindul coastal mountain ranges.

[6] Aposematic coloration serves as a visual warning to potential predators that the species is unpalatable which they will soon realize after making the mistake of trying to attack an Oophaga sylvatica.

[3] Oophaga sylvatica is a species that belongs to the family of Dendrobatidae, commonly called poison-dart frogs, characterized by their bright coloration and the toxic alkaloids found in their skin.

[15] Also known as Dendrobates sylvaticus, the phylogenetic relationship for this species has been modified a couple of times, with most hypothetical models suggesting its closest relatives to be O. pumilio, O. arborea, O. speciosa, and O.

In populations in northwestern Ecuador, O. sylvatica was found to follow two main genetic lineages, separated by the Santiago River into northern and southern groups.

The southern populations consist of Felfa, Cristóbal Colón, Simón Bolívar, Quingüe, Cube, Puerto Quito, Santo Domingo, and La Maná.

[18] Within-clade variation is greater than between-clades, which can be attributed to a variety of causes, including gene flow, recent separation of populations, and the number and class of genetic markers used for study.

[3][4] Its habitat is threatened by deforestation for anthropogenic land use, including agriculture, logging, mining, human settlements, and pollution.

[5] However, because O. sylvatica raises their young in bromeliads which are absent in secondary and road-edge habitats, this species is overwhelmingly found in primary forest.

[19] Besides its distribution being heavily biased towards primary forest, O. sylvatica is commonly observed and easy to identify, vocal during the day, and widespread in the Chocó rainforest, making it a good species indicator of habitat quality.

[4] It is considered of Concern and is part of Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora, or CITES.

[20] This effort, known as the EBC initiative (Translation from Spanish: "Binational Strategy for the Conservation and Participatory Monitoring of Threatened Species of the Key Biodiversity Areas in the Tropical Andes"), was built by the Ecological Foundation Los Colibríes de Altaquer (FELCA) with support from the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).

[14] Common territorial and aggressive behaviors by Oophaga sylvatica include simultaneous calling by male conspecifics, advancing and retreating, and wrestling.

[25] The ant and mite species O. sylvatica consumes contributes to its accumulation of and variation in alkaloid toxins stored in its skin, which is used as a defense mechanism.

[27] A study published in 2014 suggests that because of the brightly colored aposematism frogs like O. sylvatica present, they use this protection from predators to their advantage by evolving more diverse, distinctive, and complex mating calls.

[29] Once a female is attracted to a male's territory, they engage in a series of mating behaviors, including pursuing and circling each other, crouching, and touching.

[14] It has been suggested that the toxin's presence in oocytes serve to provide offspring with toxic defense mechanisms early on, when they are growing and still depend on their mother's trophic eggs for nourishment.

[31] O. sylvatica has also been affected by the significant and global decline of amphibian populations, with leading causes due to habitat destruction and anthropomorphization, disease, pollution, and higher levels of UV radiation.

[32] Rapid population declines of O. sylvatica are largely attributed to habitat loss, disease, and the illegal pet trade.

[4][36] In addition to the toxicity of alkaloids on the O. sylvatica skin providing defense against predators, these same toxins cause them to give off vibrant colors.

By combining bright warning coloration and toxic chemicals on their skin that render them unpalatable, these frogs make themselves memorable to predators to ward off potential future attacks.

[38][39] As bright and contrasting colors are typically easier to remember and memorize,[40][41][42][43][44] common colors found in neotropical poison frogs like O. sylvatica include red, yellow and black, to ensure high luminance and hue contrast both between the different patterning on their skin and in comparison to the surrounding environment the frog is located.

Proteomic profiling has revealed that the livers of these frogs produce high levels of specialized proteins like saxiphilin that may be involved in alkaloid sequestration.

How exactly the toxins are able to arrive at the skin and be stored in granules is yet unknown, but researchers hypothesize this process likely involves coordination between various tissues and transport systems.

As such, proteomic profiling studies have found varying degrees of upregulation and downregulation of different metabolic-related proteins in these frogs, compared to non-toxic controls.