1
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Newar SL, Schneiderová I, Hughes B, Bowman J. Ultrasound and ultraviolet: crypsis in gliding mammals. PeerJ 2024; 12:e17048. [PMID: 38549780 PMCID: PMC10977092 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Gliding is only present in six extant groups of mammals-interestingly, despite divergent evolutionary histories, all mammalian gliders are strictly nocturnal. Gliding mammals also seem to have relatively high rates of ultrasound use and ultraviolet-induced photoluminescence (UVP) in contrast with their close relatives. Therefore, we hypothesized that, despite diverging lineages, gliding mammals use similar modes of cryptic communication compared to their non-gliding counterparts. We developed two datasets containing the vocal range (minimum-maximum of the dominant harmonic; kHz) and UVP of 73 and 82 species, respectively; we report four novel vocal repertoires and 57 novel observations of the presence or absence of UVP. We complemented these datasets with information about body size, diel activity patterns, habitat openness, and sociality to explore possible covariates related to vocal production and UVP. We found that the maximum of the dominant harmonic was significant higher in gliding mammals when vocalizing than their non-gliding relatives. Additionally, we found that nocturnality was the only significant predictor of UVP, consistent with the previous hypothesis that luminophores primarily drive UVP in mammal fur. In contrast, however, we did not find UVP ubiquitous in nocturnal mammals, suggesting that some unknown process may contribute to variation in this trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha L. Newar
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
| | | | - Bryan Hughes
- Faculty of Biology, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
| | - Jeff Bowman
- Environmental and Life Sciences, Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Foresty, Peterborough, ON, Canada
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2
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Motyka M, Kazantsev SV, Kusy D, Perkovsky EE, Yamamoto S, Bocak L. Eocene aposematic patterns persist in modern European Lycidae beetles despite the absence of co-mimics. iScience 2023; 26:106217. [PMID: 36922999 PMCID: PMC10009048 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Ancient aposematic signals might have evolved under different ecological circumstances. Using European Cenozoic amber and phylogenetic reconstruction, we evaluated the evolution of net-winged beetle aposematism. We describe Priabonian Hiekeolycus winkleri sp. nov. from Baltic amber, review known fossil species, and suggest earlier high diversity and morphological conservativeness of European Lycidae since the Eocene. We hypothesize the presence of red and black/red aposematic patterns in Eocene Europe. The analyses suggest the Oligocene to Miocene dispersal of additional species from East Asia and their advergence to autochthonous patterns. Recently dispersed lycids have retained similarities with their East Asian relatives. Net-winged beetles are rare in Europe after the Quaternary climatic oscillations, and we hypothesize a currently relaxed selection for shared aposematic signals. Neophobia, and eventually inborn rejection of brightly colored prey, putatively preserved ancient aposematism under changing conditions. Evidence from paleontology and phylogenetics can provide insight into the long-term persistence of old adaptations under changing conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michal Motyka
- Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, Slechtitelu 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Sergey V Kazantsev
- Insect Centre, Donetskaya 13-326, 109651 Moscow, Russia.,A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution RAS, 33 Leninsky Pr., 119071 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dominik Kusy
- Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, Slechtitelu 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Evgeny E Perkovsky
- I.I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, Bogdan Khmelnitski Street15, 01030 Kiev, Ukraine.,A.A. Borissiak Paleontological Institute RAS, 123 Profsoyuznaya Street, 117647 Moscow, Russia
| | - Shûhei Yamamoto
- Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Kita 10, Nishi 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0810, Japan
| | - Ladislav Bocak
- Biodiversity and Molecular Evolution, Czech Advanced Technology Research Institute, Slechtitelu 27, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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3
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Sculfort O, Maisonneuve L, Elias M, Aubier TG, Llaurens V. Uncovering the effects of Müllerian mimicry on the evolution of conspicuousness in colour patterns. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.08680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ombeline Sculfort
- Inst. de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne‐Univ., EPHE, Univ. des Antilles Paris France
- Molécules de Communication et Adaptations des Micro‐organismes (MCAM), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS Paris France
- Laboratoire Écologie, Évolution, Interactions des Systèmes Amazoniens (LEEISA), Univ. de Guyane, CNRS, IFREMER Cayenne France
| | - Ludovic Maisonneuve
- Inst. de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne‐Univ., EPHE, Univ. des Antilles Paris France
| | - Marianne Elias
- Inst. de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne‐Univ., EPHE, Univ. des Antilles Paris France
| | | | - Violaine Llaurens
- Inst. de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne‐Univ., EPHE, Univ. des Antilles Paris France
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4
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Valenta K, Bornbusch SL, Jacques Y, Nevo O. In the eye of the beholder: Is color classification consistent among human observers? Ecol Evol 2021; 11:13875-13883. [PMID: 34707824 PMCID: PMC8525178 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Colorful displays have evolved in multiple plant and animal species as signals to mutualists, antagonists, competitors, mates, and other potential receivers. Studies of color have long relied on subjective classifications of color by human observers. However, humans have a limited ability to perceive color compared to other animals, and human biological, cultural, and environmental variables can influence color perception. Here, we test the consistency of human color classification using fruit color as a model system. We used reflectance data of 67 tropical fruits and surveyed 786 participants to assess the degree to which (a) participants of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds agree on color classification of fruits; and (b) human classification to a discrete set of commonly used colors (e.g., red, blue, green) corresponds to natural clusters based on light reflectance measures processed through visual systems of other animals. We find that individual humans tend to agree on the colors they attribute to fruits across language groups. However, these colors do not correspond to clearly discernible clusters in di- or tetrachromatic visual systems. These results indicate that subjective color categorizations tend to be consistent among observers and can be used for large synthetic studies, but also that they do not fully reflect natural categories that are relevant to animal observers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kim Valenta
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of FloridaGainesvilleFLUSA
| | | | | | - Omer Nevo
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigLeipzigGermany
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University JenaJenaGermany
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5
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Hämäläinen L, Hoppitt W, Rowland HM, Mappes J, Fulford AJ, Sosa S, Thorogood R. Social transmission in the wild can reduce predation pressure on novel prey signals. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3978. [PMID: 34172738 PMCID: PMC8233390 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24154-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Social transmission of information is taxonomically widespread and could have profound effects on the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of animal communities. Demonstrating this in the wild, however, has been challenging. Here we show by field experiment that social transmission among predators can shape how selection acts on prey defences. Using artificial prey and a novel approach in statistical analyses of social networks, we find that blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tit (Parus major) predators learn about prey defences by watching others. This shifts population preferences rapidly to match changes in prey profitability, and reduces predation pressure from naïve predators. Our results may help resolve how costly prey defences are maintained despite influxes of naïve juvenile predators, and suggest that accounting for social transmission is essential if we are to understand coevolutionary processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Hämäläinen
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
| | - William Hoppitt
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
| | - Hannah M Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
- Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Sebastian Sosa
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, IPHC, UMR 7178, Strasbourg, France
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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6
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Ord TJ, Blazek K, White TE, Das I. Conspicuous animal signals avoid the cost of predation by being intermittent or novel: confirmation in the wild using hundreds of robotic prey. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210706. [PMID: 34102889 PMCID: PMC8187999 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Social animals are expected to face a trade-off between producing a signal that is detectible by mates and rivals, but not obvious to predators. This trade-off is fundamental for understanding the design of many animal signals, and is often the lens through which the evolution of alternative communication strategies is viewed. We have a reasonable working knowledge of how conspecifics detect signals under different conditions, but how predators exploit conspicuous communication of prey is complex and hard to predict. We quantified predation on 1566 robotic lizard prey that performed a conspicuous visual display, possessed a conspicuous ornament or remained cryptic. Attacks by free-ranging predators were consistent across two contrasting ecosystems and showed robotic prey that performed a conspicuous display were equally likely to be attacked as those that remained cryptic. Furthermore, predators avoided attacking robotic prey with a fixed, highly visible ornament that was novel at both locations. These data show that it is prey familiarity-not conspicuousness-that determine predation risk. These findings replicated across different predator-prey communities not only reveal how conspicuous signals might evolve in high predation environments, but could help resolve the paradox of aposematism and why some exotic species avoid predation when invading new areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terry J. Ord
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre and the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Katrina Blazek
- School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Thomas E. White
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Indraneil Das
- Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia
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7
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Mora-Castro R, Alfaro-Córdoba M, Hernández-Jiménez M, Fernández Otárola M, Méndez-Rivera M, Ramírez-Morales D, Rodríguez-Rodríguez CE, Durán-Rodríguez A, Hanson PE. First evidence for an aposematic function of a very common color pattern in small insects. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0237288. [PMID: 33571212 PMCID: PMC7877781 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0237288] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 01/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many small parasitoid wasps have a black head, an orange mesosoma and a black metasoma (BOB color pattern), which is usually present in both sexes. A likely function of this widespread pattern is aposematic (warning) coloration, but this has never been investigated. To test this hypothesis, we presented spider predators (Lyssomanes jemineus), both field-captured and bred in captivity from eggs, to four wasp genera (Baryconus, Chromoteleia, Macroteleia and Scelio), each genus being represented by a BOB morphospecies and black morphospecies. We also used false prey, consisting of lures made of painted rice grains. Behavioral responses were analyzed with respect to presence or absence of the BOB pattern. In order to better understand the results obtained, two additional studies were performed. First, the reflection spectrum of the cuticle of the wasp and a theoretical visual sensibility of the spider were used to calculate a parameter we called "absorption contrast" that allows comparing the perception contrast between black and orange in each wasp genus as viewed by the spider. Second, acute toxicity trials with the water flea, Daphnia magna, were performed to determine toxicity differences between BOB and non-BOB wasps. At least some of the results suggest that the BOB color pattern may possibly play an aposematic role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca Mora-Castro
- Centro de Investigación en Biología Celular y Molecular, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Escuela de Biología, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- * E-mail:
| | - Marcela Alfaro-Córdoba
- Centro de Investigación en Matemática Pura y Aplicada, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Escuela de Estadística, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Marcela Hernández-Jiménez
- Centro de Investigación en Ciencia e Ingeniería de Materiales, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Escuela de Física, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Mauricio Fernández Otárola
- Escuela de Biología, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
- Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Ecología Tropical (CIBET), University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Michael Méndez-Rivera
- Centro de Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA), University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | - Didier Ramírez-Morales
- Centro de Investigación en Contaminación Ambiental (CICA), University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
| | | | | | - Paul E. Hanson
- Escuela de Biología, University of Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica
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8
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Medina I, Vega-Trejo R, Wallenius T, Esquerré D, León C, Perez DM, Head ML. No link between nymph and adult coloration in shield bugs: weak selection by predators. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20201011. [PMID: 32576112 PMCID: PMC7329039 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2020] [Accepted: 06/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many organisms use different antipredator strategies throughout their life, but little is known about the reasons or implications of such changes. For years, it has been suggested that selection by predators should favour uniformity in local warning signals. If this is the case, we would expect high resemblance in colour across life stages in aposematic animals where young and adults share similar morphology and habitat. In this study, we used shield bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea) to test whether colour and colour diversity evolve similarly at different life stages. Since many of these bugs are considered to be aposematic, we also combined multi-species analyses with predation experiments on the cotton harlequin bug to test whether there is evidence of selection for uniformity in colour across life stages. Overall, we show that the diversity of colours used by both life stages is comparable, but adults are more cryptic than nymphs. We also demonstrate that nymphs and adults of the same species do not tend to look alike. Experiments on our model system suggest that predators can generalise among life stages that look different, and exhibit strong neophobia. Altogether, our results show no evidence of selection favouring colour similarity between adults and nymphs in this speciose clade.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iliana Medina
- School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria 3010, Australia
| | | | - Thomas Wallenius
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Damien Esquerré
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Constanza León
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Daniela M. Perez
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
| | - Megan L. Head
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia
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9
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Hämäläinen L, Mappes J, Rowland HM, Teichmann M, Thorogood R. Social learning within and across predator species reduces attacks on novel aposematic prey. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1153-1164. [PMID: 32077104 PMCID: PMC7317195 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
To make adaptive foraging decisions, predators need to gather information about the profitability of prey. As well as learning from prey encounters, recent studies show that predators can learn about prey defences by observing the negative foraging experiences of conspecifics. However, predator communities are complex. While observing heterospecifics may increase learning opportunities, we know little about how social information use varies across predator species. Social transmission of avoidance among predators also has potential consequences for defended prey. Conspicuous aposematic prey are assumed to be an easy target for naïve predators, but this cost may be reduced if multiple predators learn by observing single predation events. Heterospecific information use by predators might further benefit aposematic prey, but this remains untested. Here we test conspecific and heterospecific information use across a predator community with wild-caught blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) and great tits (Parus major). We used video playback to manipulate social information about novel aposematic prey and then compared birds' foraging choices in 'a small-scale novel world' that contained novel palatable and aposematic prey items. We expected that blue tits would be less likely to use social information compared to great tits. However, we found that both blue tits and great tits consumed fewer aposematic prey after observing a negative foraging experience of a demonstrator. In fact, this effect was stronger in blue tits compared to great tits. Interestingly, blue tits also learned more efficiently from watching conspecifics, whereas great tits learned similarly regardless of the demonstrator species. Together, our results indicate that social transmission about novel aposematic prey occurs in multiple predator species and across species boundaries. This supports the idea that social interactions among predators can reduce attacks on aposematic prey and therefore influence selection for prey defences.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Hannah M Rowland
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.,Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, UK
| | - Marianne Teichmann
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Programme in Organismal & Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Chair of Nature Conservation & Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Research Programme in Organismal & Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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10
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Zabuga AV, Arrigo MI, Teyssier J, Mouchet SR, Nishikawa K, Matsui M, Vences M, Milinkovitch MC. Translucent in air and iridescent in water: structural analysis of a salamander egg sac. SOFT MATTER 2020; 16:1714-1721. [PMID: 32031549 DOI: 10.1039/c9sm02151e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Females of some Asian salamanders of the genus Hynobius deposit in streams their eggs embedded in a translucent envelope called an 'egg sac'. The edges of the envelope exhibit a spectacular blue-to-yellow iridescent glow, which instantaneously disappears when the sac is removed from water. First, our scanning electron microscopy analyses reveal that the inner surface of the 100 μm-thick envelope displays striations (length scale of about 3 μm), which are themselves covered by much smaller (190 ± 30 nm) and quasi-periodic corrugations. The latter could constitute a surface diffraction grating generating iridescence by light interference. Second, our transmission electron microscopy and focused-ion-beam scanning electron microscopy analyses show that the bulk of the egg sac wall is composed of meandering fibres with a quasi-periodic modulation of 190 ± 60 nm along the thickness of the envelope, generating a photonic crystal. Third, Fourier power analyses of 450 electron microscopy images with varying incident angles indicate that changing the surrounding medium from water to air shifts most of the backscattered power spectrum to the ultraviolet range, hence, explaining that the egg sac loses visible iridescence when removed out of the water. Fourth, the results of our photography and optical spectroscopy experiments of submerged and emerged egg sacs rule out the possibility that the iridescence is due to a thin film or a multilayer, whereas the observed non-specular response is compatible with the backscattering expected from surface diffraction gratings and volumetric photonic crystals with spatial 1D modulation. Finally, although we mention several potential biological functions of the egg sac structural colours and iridescence, we emphasise that these optical properties might be the by-products of the envelope material internal structure selected during evolution for its mechanical properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra V Zabuga
- Laboratory of Artificial and Natural Evolution (LANE), Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
| | - Marcelle I Arrigo
- Laboratory of Artificial and Natural Evolution (LANE), Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
| | - Jérémie Teyssier
- Department of Quantum Matter Physics, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sébastien R Mouchet
- School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL, UK and Department of Physics, University of Namur, 5000 Namur, Belgium
| | - Kanto Nishikawa
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Masafumi Matsui
- Graduate School of Human and Environmental Studies, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Miguel Vences
- Zoological Institute, Braunschweig University of Technology, Braunschweig, Germany
| | - Michel C Milinkovitch
- Laboratory of Artificial and Natural Evolution (LANE), Department of Genetics and Evolution, University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, 1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
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11
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Kariko S, Timonen JVI, Weaver JC, Gur D, Marks C, Leiserowitz L, Kolle M, Li L. Structural origins of coloration in the spider Phoroncidia rubroargentea Berland, 1913 (Araneae: Theridiidae) from Madagascar. J R Soc Interface 2019; 15:rsif.2017.0930. [PMID: 29467259 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2017.0930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 01/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the structural basis for the red, silver and black coloration of the theridiid spider, Phoroncidia rubroargentea (Berland, 1913) from Madagascar. Specimens of this species can retain their colour after storage in ethanol for decades, whereas most other brightly pigmented spider specimens fade under identical preservation conditions. Using correlative optical, structural and chemical analysis, we identify the colour-generating structural elements and characterize their optical properties. The prominent silvery appearance of the spider's abdomen results from regularly arranged guanine microplatelets, similar to those found in other spiders and fish. The microplatelets are composed of a doublet structure twinned about the [[Formula: see text]] axis, as suggested by electron diffraction. The red coloration originates from chambered microspheres (approx. 1 µm in diameter), which contain structured fluorescent material. Co-localization of the red microparticles on top of the reflective guanine microplatelets appears to enhance the red coloration. The spider's thick cuticular layer, which encases its abdomen, varies in its optical properties, being transparent in regions where only guanine reflectors are present, and tanned, exhibiting light absorption where the red microspheres are found. Moreover, colour degradation in some preserved spider specimens that had suffered damage to the cuticular layer suggests that this region of the exoskeleton may play an important role in the stabilization of the red coloration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kariko
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Jaakko V I Timonen
- Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.,Department of Applied Physics, Aalto University School of Science, Espoo 02150, Finland
| | - James C Weaver
- Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Technology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Dvir Gur
- Department of Physics of Complex Systems and Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Carolyn Marks
- Center for Nano Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Leslie Leiserowitz
- Department of Materials and Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel
| | - Mathias Kolle
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ling Li
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
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12
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Slagsvold T, Wiebe KL. Immigrants and locally recruited birds differ in prey delivered to their offspring in blue tits and great tits. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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13
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Busso JP, Blanckenhorn WU. Viability selection by invertebrate predators in the polyphenic black scavenger fly Sepsis thoracica. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Juan Pablo Busso
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, CH, Zürich
| | - Wolf U Blanckenhorn
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, CH, Zürich
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14
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Thorogood R, Kokko H, Mappes J. Social transmission of avoidance among predators facilitates the spread of novel prey. Nat Ecol Evol 2017; 2:254-261. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0418-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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15
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Holmes IA, Grundler MR, Davis Rabosky AR. Predator Perspective Drives Geographic Variation in Frequency-Dependent Polymorphism. Am Nat 2017; 190:E78-E93. [PMID: 28937812 DOI: 10.1086/693159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Color polymorphism in natural populations can manifest as a striking patchwork of phenotypes in space, with neighboring populations characterized by dramatic differences in morph composition. These geographic mosaics can be challenging to explain in the absence of localized selection because they are unlikely to result from simple isolation-by-distance or clinal variation in selective regimes. To identify processes that can lead to the formation of geographic mosaics, we developed a simulation-based model to explore the influence of predator perspective, selection, migration, and genetic linkage of color loci on allele frequencies in polymorphic populations over space and time. Using simulated populations inspired by the biology of Heliconius longwing butterflies, Cepaea land snails, Oophaga poison frogs, and Sonora ground snakes, we found that the relative sizes of predator and prey home ranges can produce large differences in morph composition between neighboring populations under both positive and negative frequency-dependent selection. We also demonstrated the importance of the interaction of predator perspective with the type of frequency dependence and localized directional selection across migration and selection intensities. Our results show that regional-scale predation can promote the formation of phenotypic mosaics in prey species, without the need to invoke spatial variation in selective regimes. We suggest that predator behavior can play an important and underappreciated role in the formation and maintenance of geographic mosaics in polymorphic species.
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16
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Beneš J, Veselý P. The ability of lizards to identify an artificial Batesian mimic. ZOOLOGY 2017; 123:46-52. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2017.05.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2016] [Revised: 05/29/2017] [Accepted: 05/29/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Umbers KDL, De Bona S, White TE, Lehtonen J, Mappes J, Endler JA. Deimatism: a neglected component of antipredator defence. Biol Lett 2017; 13:rsbl.2016.0936. [PMID: 28404819 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0936] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Deimatic or 'startle' displays cause a receiver to recoil reflexively in response to a sudden change in sensory input. Deimatism is sometimes implicitly treated as a form of aposematism (unprofitability associated with a signal). However, the fundamental difference is, in order to provide protection, deimatism does not require a predator to have any learned or innate aversion. Instead, deimatism can confer a survival advantage by exploiting existing neural mechanisms in a way that releases a reflexive response in the predator. We discuss the differences among deimatism, aposematism, and forms of mimicry, and their ecological and evolutionary implications. We highlight outstanding questions critical to progress in understanding deimatism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate D L Umbers
- School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia .,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Sebastiano De Bona
- University of Jyväskylä, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Jyväskylä, 40100, Finland
| | - Thomas E White
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Jussi Lehtonen
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Johanna Mappes
- University of Jyväskylä, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Jyväskylä, 40100, Finland
| | - John A Endler
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia
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18
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Adamová-Ježová D, Hospodková E, Fuchsová L, Štys P, Exnerová A. Through experience to boldness? Deactivation of neophobia towards novel and aposematic prey in three European species of tits (Paridae). Behav Processes 2016; 131:24-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Revised: 07/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Brandley N, Johnson M, Johnsen S. Aposematic signals in North American black widows are more conspicuous to predators than to prey. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The iconic red hourglass of the black widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) is traditionally considered an aposematic signal, yet experimental evidence is lacking. Here, we present data that suggest that black widow coloration may have evolved to be an aposematic signal that is more conspicuous to their vertebrate predators than to their insect prey. In choice experiments with wild birds, we found that the red-and-black coloration deters potential predators: Wild birds were ~3 times less likely to attack a black widow model with an hourglass than one without. Using visual-system appropriate models, we also found that a black widow’s red-and-black color combo is more apparent to a typical bird than a typical insect. Additionally, an ancestral reconstruction reveals that red dorsal coloration is ancestral in black widows and that at some point some North American widows lost their red dorsal coloration. Behaviorally, differences in red dorsal coloration between 2 North American species are accompanied by differences in microhabitat that affects how often a bird will view a black widow’s dorsal region. All observations are consistent with a cost–benefit trade-off of being more conspicuous to predators than to prey. We suggest that limiting detection by prey may help explain why red and black aposematic signals occur frequently in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas Brandley
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA and
- Department of Organismal Biology and Ecology, Colorado College, 14 East Cache La Poudre Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903, USA
| | - Matthew Johnson
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA and
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708, USA and
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20
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Aubier TG, Sherratt TN. Diversity in Müllerian mimicry: The optimal predator sampling strategy explains both local and regional polymorphism in prey. Evolution 2015; 69:2831-45. [PMID: 26456598 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2015] [Accepted: 09/24/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The convergent evolution of warning signals in unpalatable species, known as Müllerian mimicry, has been observed in a wide variety of taxonomic groups. This form of mimicry is generally thought to have arisen as a consequence of local frequency-dependent selection imposed by sampling predators. However, despite clear evidence for local selection against rare warning signals, there appears an almost embarrassing amount of polymorphism in natural warning colors, both within and among populations. Because the model of predator cognition widely invoked to explain Müllerian mimicry (Müller's "fixed n(k)" model) is highly simplified and has not been empirically supported; here, we explore the dynamical consequences of the optimal strategy for sampling unfamiliar prey. This strategy, based on a classical exploration-exploitation trade-off, not only allows for a variable number of prey sampled, but also accounts for predator neophobia under some conditions. In contrast to Müller's "fixed n(k)" sampling rule, the optimal sampling strategy is capable of generating a variety of dynamical outcomes, including mimicry but also regional and local polymorphism. Moreover, the heterogeneity of predator behavior across space and time that a more nuanced foraging strategy allows, can even further facilitate the emergence of both local and regional polymorphism in prey warning color.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas G Aubier
- UMR 5175, Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, 1919 route de Mende, 34090, Montpellier, France. .,UMR 7205, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CP50, 45 rue Buffon, 75005, Paris, France.
| | - Thomas N Sherratt
- Department of Biology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario, K1S 5B6, Canada
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21
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Honma A, Mappes J, Valkonen JK. Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:4863-74. [PMID: 26640666 PMCID: PMC4662304 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2015] [Revised: 08/28/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Warning (aposematic) and cryptic colorations appear to be mutually incompatible because the primary function of the former is to increase detectability, whereas the function of the latter is to decrease it. Disruptive coloration is a type of crypsis in which the color pattern breaks up the outline of the prey, thus hindering its detection. This delusion can work even when the prey's pattern elements are highly contrasting; thus, it is possible for an animal's coloration to combine both warning and disruptive functions. The coloration of the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) is such that the moth is conspicuous when it rests on vegetation, but when it feigns death and drops to the grass- and litter-covered ground, it is hard to detect. This death-feigning behavior therefore immediately switches the function of its coloration from signaling to camouflage. We experimentally tested whether the forewing patterning of wood tiger moths could function as disruptive coloration against certain backgrounds. Using actual forewing patterns of wood tiger moths, we crafted artificial paper moths and placed them on a background image resembling a natural litter and grass background. We manipulated the disruptiveness of the wing pattern so that all (marginal pattern) or none (nonmarginal pattern) of the markings extended to the edge of the wing. Paper moths, each with a hidden palatable food item, were offered to great tits (Parus major) in a large aviary where the birds could search for and attack the "moths" according to their detectability. The results showed that prey items with the disruptive marginal pattern were attacked less often than prey without it. However, the disruptive function was apparent only when the prey was brighter than the background. These results suggest that warning coloration and disruptive coloration can work in concert and that the moth, by feigning death, can switch the function of its coloration from warning to disruptive.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Honma
- University of Jyväskylä Department of Biological and Environmental Science Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions P.O. Box 35 Jyväskylä 40014 Finland ; Department of Ecosystem Studies School of Environmental Science The University of Shiga Prefecture 2500 Hassaka-cho Hikone City Shiga 522-8533 Japan
| | - Johanna Mappes
- University of Jyväskylä Department of Biological and Environmental Science Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions P.O. Box 35 Jyväskylä 40014 Finland
| | - Janne K Valkonen
- University of Jyväskylä Department of Biological and Environmental Science Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions P.O. Box 35 Jyväskylä 40014 Finland
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22
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Amo L, López-Rull I, Pagán I, García CM. Evidence that the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) uses scent to avoid omnivore mammals. REVISTA CHILENA DE HISTORIA NATURAL 2015. [DOI: 10.1186/s40693-015-0036-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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23
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McMahon K, Conboy A, O'Byrne-White E, Thomas RJ, Marples NM. Dietary wariness influences the response of foraging birds to competitors. Anim Behav 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.12.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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24
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25
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Fraser BA, Hughes KA, Tosh DN, Rodd FH. The role of learning by a predator, Rivulus hartii
, in the rare-morph survival advantage in guppies. J Evol Biol 2013; 26:2597-605. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2012] [Revised: 07/30/2013] [Accepted: 08/21/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- B. A. Fraser
- Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology; Tuebingen Germany
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto ON Canada
| | - K. A. Hughes
- Department of Biological Science; Florida State University; Tallahassee FL USA
| | - D. N. Tosh
- Department of Biological Science; Florida State University; Tallahassee FL USA
| | - F. H. Rodd
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; University of Toronto; Toronto ON Canada
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26
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Teichmann J, Broom M, Alonso E. The application of temporal difference learning in optimal diet models. J Theor Biol 2013; 340:11-6. [PMID: 24036204 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2013.08.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2013] [Revised: 08/28/2013] [Accepted: 08/30/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
An experience-based aversive learning model of foraging behaviour in uncertain environments is presented. We use Q-learning as a model-free implementation of Temporal difference learning motivated by growing evidence for neural correlates in natural reinforcement settings. The predator has the choice of including an aposematic prey in its diet or to forage on alternative food sources. We show how the predator's foraging behaviour and energy intake depend on toxicity of the defended prey and the presence of Batesian mimics. We introduce the precondition of exploration of the action space for successful aversion formation and show how it predicts foraging behaviour in the presence of conflicting rewards which is conditionally suboptimal in a fixed environment but allows better adaptation in changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Teichmann
- Department of Mathematical Science, City University London, Northampton Square, London EC1V0HB, United Kingdom.
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27
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Valdés Á, Ornelas-Gatdula E, Dupont A. Color pattern variation in a shallow-water species of opisthobranch mollusc. THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2013; 224:35-46. [PMID: 23493507 DOI: 10.1086/bblv224n1p35] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The color pattern of benthic opisthobranch sea slugs (Mollusca: Gastropoda) appears to play an important defensive role, and numerous species seem to have aposematic (warning) colorations. Color pattern is an important trait for opisthobranch identification-this conclusion is based on the assumption that most species have limited color variation. For those species in which color variation is recognized, the reasons for the variation remain unknown. In this paper we study Philinopsis pusa, a benthic putative species of opisthobranch sea slug with a broad range of color pattern. Lighter individuals appear to be camouflaged on the white sand environment in which the animals are typically found, whereas darker individuals appear conspicuously different from their background. Because of its broad color variation, P. pusa has been subdivided into different species. Animals were collected and observed in the Bahamas during a 6-year span. The color pattern of the specimens was subjectively classified into five phenotypic classes. Two mitochondrial genes (16S, CO1) were sequenced from 41 specimens. The association between color pattern, body length, burrowing escaping behavior, and the genetic structure of the population was investigated. We found two genetically distinct groups in the target population but no significant association between color pattern and genetic structure. Additionally, there was no significant association between color pattern and ontogeny or defensive behavior in these organisms. The present paper suggests that general assumptions on the biological and evolutionary role of color in opisthobranchs need to be carefully evaluated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ángel Valdés
- Department of Biological Sciences, California State Polytechnic University, 3801 West Temple Avenue, Pomona, CA 91768, USA.
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28
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Lee TJ, Speed MP, Stephens PA. Honest Signaling and the Uses of Prey Coloration. Am Nat 2011; 178:E1-9. [DOI: 10.1086/660197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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29
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Slagsvold T, Wiebe KL. Social learning in birds and its role in shaping a foraging niche. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2011; 366:969-77. [PMID: 21357219 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2010.0343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We briefly review the literature on social learning in birds, concluding that strong evidence exists mainly for predator recognition, song, mate choice and foraging. The mechanism of local enhancement may be more important than imitation for birds learning to forage, but the former mechanism may be sufficient for faithful transmission depending on the ecological circumstances. To date, most insights have been gained from birds in captivity. We present a study of social learning of foraging in two passerine birds in the wild, where we cross-fostered eggs between nests of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus and great tits, Parus major. Early learning causes a shift in the foraging sites used by the tits in the direction of the foster species. The shift in foraging niches was consistent across seasons, as showed by an analysis of prey items, and the effect lasted for life. The fact that young birds learn from their foster parents, and use this experience later when subsequently feeding their own offspring, suggests that foraging behaviour can be culturally transmitted over generations in the wild. It may therefore have both ecological and evolutionary consequences, some of which are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tore Slagsvold
- Department of Biology, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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30
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Nokelainen O, Hegna RH, Reudler JH, Lindstedt C, Mappes J. Trade-off between warning signal efficacy and mating success in the wood tiger moth. Proc Biol Sci 2011; 279:257-65. [PMID: 21653589 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The coloration of species can have multiple functions, such as predator avoidance and sexual signalling, that directly affect fitness. As selection should favour traits that positively affect fitness, the genes underlying the trait should reach fixation, thereby preventing the evolution of polymorphisms. This is particularly true for aposematic species that rely on coloration as a warning signal to advertise their unprofitability to predators. Nonetheless, there are numerous examples of aposematic species showing remarkable colour polymorphisms. We examined whether colour polymorphism in the wood tiger moth is maintained by trade-offs between different functions of coloration. In Finland, males of this species have two distinct colour morphs: white and yellow. The efficacy of the warning signal of these morphs was tested by offering them to blue tits in the laboratory. Birds hesitated significantly longer to attack yellow than white males. In a field experiment, the survival of the yellow males was also higher than white males. However, mating experiments in the laboratory revealed that yellow males had lower mating success than white males. Our results offer an explanation for the maintenance of polymorphism via trade-off between survival selection and mating success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ossi Nokelainen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä, , PO Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
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31
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Richards EL, Thomas RJ, Marples NM, Snellgrove DL, Cable J. The expression of dietary conservatism in solitary and shoaling 3-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus. Behav Ecol 2011. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Comeault AA, Noonan BP. Spatial variation in the fitness of divergent aposematic phenotypes of the poison frog, Dendrobates tinctorius. J Evol Biol 2011; 24:1374-9. [PMID: 21418119 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02258.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Aposematic species use brightly coloured signals to warn potential predators of their unpalatability. The function of these signals is largely believed to be frequency-dependent. All else being equal, stabilizing selection is expected to constrain the evolution of novel signals. However, despite the expected frequency-dependent function of aposematic signals, interpopulation variation in aposematic signals is ubiquitous in nature. Here, we used clay models of the poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius to test the nature of selection in regions containing varying frequencies of frogs possessing the local aposematic signal. Our findings support a role for stabilizing selection in maintaining the local signal type in a region of high signal frequency; however, we observe a lack of stabilizing selection at one site coincident with a decrease in the density of frogs possessing the local signal. Spatial variation in local aposematic signal frequencies may facilitate the evolution of novel signal types by altering the adaptive landscape for divergent aposematic phenotypes. Our results provide evidence for spatial variation in the selective regime acting on aposematic signals within an established aposematic system and highlight the need for further study of the nature of selection acting across different spatial scales in diverse aposematic systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- A A Comeault
- Biology Department, University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS, USA.
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Hegna RH, Saporito RA, Gerow KG, Donnelly MA. Contrasting Colors of an Aposematic Poison Frog Do Not Affect Predation. ANN ZOOL FENN 2011. [DOI: 10.5735/086.048.0103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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35
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Lee TJ, Speed MP. The effect of metapopulation dynamics on the survival and spread of a novel, conspicuous prey. J Theor Biol 2010; 267:319-29. [PMID: 20804773 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2010.08.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2009] [Revised: 07/30/2010] [Accepted: 08/24/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Animals that deploy chemical defences against predators often signal their unprofitability using bright colouration. This pairing of toxicity and conspicuous patterning is known as aposematism. Explaining the evolution and spread of aposematic traits in previously cryptic species has been the focus of much empirical and theoretical work over the last two decades. Existing research concerning the initial evolution of aposematism does not however properly consider that many aposematic species (such as members of the hymenoptera, the lepidoptera, and amphibia) are highly mobile. We argue in this paper that the evolution of aposematic displays is therefore often best understood within a metapopulation framework; hence in this paper we present the first explicit metapopulation model of the evolution of aposematism. Our most general finding is that migration tends to reduce the probability that an aposematic prey can increase from rarity and spread across a large population. Hence, the best case scenarios for the spread of aposematism required fixation of the aposematic form in one or more isolated sub-habitats prior to some event which subsequently enabled migration. We observed that changes in frequency of new aposematic forms within source habitats are likely to be nonmonotonic. First, aposematic prey tend to decline in frequency as they migrate outwards from the source habitat to neighbouring sink habitats, but subsequently they increase in relative abundance in the source, as the descendents of earlier migrants migrate back from newly converted sub-populations. This pattern of initial loss and subsequent gain between new source and neighbouring sink habitats is then repeated as the aposematic form spreads via a moving cline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J Lee
- School of Biological Science, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK.
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36
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Marples NM, Mappes J. Can the dietary conservatism of predators compensate for positive frequency dependent selection against rare, conspicuous prey? Evol Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-010-9434-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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37
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Thomas RJ, King TA, Forshaw HE, Marples NM, Speed MP, Cable J. The response of fish to novel prey: evidence that dietary conservatism is not restricted to birds. Behav Ecol 2010. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arq037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Endler JA, Rojas B. The spatial pattern of natural selection when selection depends on experience. Am Nat 2010; 173:E62-78. [PMID: 19199522 DOI: 10.1086/596528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Apostatic (frequency- or density-dependent) selection, aposematic signals, and mate choice behavior generally require that the mean prey or potential mate density m value be high enough (above a threshold T) to result in sufficient encounter rates for the searcher to learn or retain the association between conspicuous signals and prey unprofitability, to forage apostatically, or to choose among mates. This assumes that all searchers experience m >T, which implicitly assumes an even dispersion of targets among searcher territories. Uneven dispersion generates new phenomena. If m <T, then only territories with local density x values that are greater than T favor experience-based behavior, leading to spatially variable frequency- or density-dependent selection intensity. As aggregation increases, the increase in percentage of targets in favorable territories (x >T) is greater than the increase in the percentage of territories that are favorable. The relationship is reversed when m >T. In both cases, because as few as 10% of the territories can contain 80% of the targets, only a few territory holders may account for most of the selection on most of the target population; accidents of experience in only a few searchers can have unexpectedly large effects on the target population. This also provides an explanation for high searcher behavior variation (personalities): individuals from favorable territories will behave differently in behavioral experiments than those from unfavorable territories, at least with respect to similar kinds of targets. These effects will generate spatial heterogeneity in natural and sexual selection in what are otherwise uniform environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- John A Endler
- Animal Behaviour Research Group, Washington Singer Labs, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter, United Kingdom
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40
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Exnerová A, Svádová KH, Fucíková E, Drent P, Stys P. Personality matters: individual variation in reactions of naive bird predators to aposematic prey. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 277:723-8. [PMID: 19889698 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1673] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Variation in reactions to aposematic prey is common among conspecific individuals of bird predators. It may result from different individual experience but it also exists among naive birds. This variation may possibly be explained by the effect of personality--a complex of correlated, heritable behavioural traits consistent across contexts. In the great tit (Parus major), two extreme personality types have been defined. 'Fast' explorers are bold, aggressive and routine-forming; 'slow' explorers are shy, non-aggressive and innovative. Influence of personality type on unlearned reaction to aposematic prey, rate of avoidance learning and memory were tested in naive, hand-reared great tits from two opposite lines selected for exploration (slow against fast). The birds were subjected to a sequence of trials in which they were offered aposematic adult firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apterus). Slow birds showed a greater degree of unlearned wariness and learned to avoid the firebugs faster than fast birds. Although birds of both personality types remembered their experience, slow birds were more cautious in the memory test. We conclude that not only different species but also populations of predators that differ in proportions of personality types may have different impacts on survival of aposematic insects under natural conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Exnerová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Vinicná 7, 128 44 Praha 2, Czech Republic.
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Cooper Jr WE, Caldwell JP, Vitt LJ. Risk Assessment and Withdrawal Behavior by Two Species of Aposematic Poison Frogs,Dendrobates auratusandOophaga pumilio, on Forest Trails. Ethology 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01615.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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BECK JAN, FIEDLER KONRAD. Adult life spans of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea + Hesperioidea): broadscale contingencies with adult and larval traits in multi-species comparisons. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01102.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Halpin CG, Skelhorn J, Rowe C. Being conspicuous and defended: selective benefits for the individual. Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arn069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Burger JMS, Kolss M, Pont J, Kawecki TJ. LEARNING ABILITY AND LONGEVITY: A SYMMETRICAL EVOLUTIONARY TRADE-OFF IN DROSOPHILA. Evolution 2008; 62:1294-304. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00376.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Hairiness and warning colours as components of antipredator defence: additive or interactive benefits? Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.10.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Naïve predators and selection for rare conspicuous defended prey: the initial evolution of aposematism revisited. Anim Behav 2008. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.06.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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WOLLENBERG KATHARINAC, LÖTTERS STEFAN, MORA-FERRER CARLOS, VEITH MICHAEL. Disentangling composite colour patterns in a poison frog species. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2007.00906.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Stevens M, Hopkins E, Hinde W, Adcock A, Connolly Y, Troscianko T, Cuthill IC. Field experiments on the effectiveness of ‘eyespots’ as predator deterrents. Anim Behav 2007. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.01.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Ruxton GD, Speed MP, Broom M. THE IMPORTANCE OF INITIAL PROTECTION OF CONSPICUOUS MUTANTS FOR THE COEVOLUTION OF DEFENSE AND APOSEMATIC SIGNALING OF THE DEFENSE: A MODELING STUDY. Evolution 2007; 61:2165-74. [PMID: 17767588 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2007.00185.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Most models of the evolution of aposematic signaling assume (1) that the secondary defense being signaled is fixed, and (2) that conspicuous mutants arising in a population of defended individuals of cryptic appearance are initially protected from predation. Previous models of ours relaxed the first assumption, here we relax the second and compare with our earlier work to explore the consequences of initial protection from predation on the coevolution of secondary defense and aposematic signaling. As expected, we find that aposematic signaling evolves more easily if initial protection is available. Less obviously, the coevolved level of secondary defense should also be higher if initial protection is provided. Across species or populations, we predict that when initial protection occurs, then strength of aposematic signal should be correlated with the strength of the underlying secondary defense, whereas no such correlation should occur without initial protection. Finally, we demonstrate that species can invest heavily in a secondary defense and remain maximally cryptic (forgoing the advantages of aposematic signaling) and that within a species we should expect strong variation in appearance between populations but much less variation within populations. Hence, we demonstrate that whether conspicuous morphs receive initial protection from predation has powerful and potentially empirically detectible consequences for the coevolution of secondary defenses and aposematic signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Graeme D Ruxton
- Division of Environmental & Evolutionary Biology, Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, United Kingdom.
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