0000000001331702
AUTHOR
Martin Stevens
The effect of predator appetite, prey warning coloration and luminance on predator foraging decisions
AbstractAposematic prey advertise their defence to visually hunting predators using conspicuous warning colouration. Established theory predicts that aposematic signals should evolve towards increased conspicuousness and similarity to enhance predator education. Contrary to theoretical expectations, there is often considerable within- and between-species variation in aposematic signals of animals sharing the same ecological niche, phylogeny and predators. This may be explained by varying responses of predators that weaken the selection pressure for a consistent signal. By presenting painted mealworm larvae as prey to great tits as predators we tested if different aposematic colour patterns …
The biology of color
In living color Animals live in a colorful world, but we rarely stop to think about how this color is produced and perceived, or how it evolved. Cuthill et al. review how color is used for social signals between individual animals and how it affects interactions with parasites, predators, and the physical environment. New approaches are elucidating aspects of animal coloration, from the requirements for complex cognition and perception mechanisms to the evolutionary dynamics surrounding its development and diversification. Science , this issue p. eaan0221
Direction and strength of selection by predators for the color of the aposematic wood tiger moth
Conventionally, predation is assumed to select for conspicuousness and uniformity of warning signals in aposematic (i.e., chemically defended and warning signaling) prey because this enhances predators' initial and learned avoidance. On the other hand, it has been suggested that both variation in the background where the signal is displayed as well as variation in predators' probability to attack defended prey may favor intermediate signals or relax selection for signal monomorphism. We studied the direction and strength of selection for the hind wing color (orange vs. red) of female Parasemia plantaginis moths. Birds found the moths aversive and avoided them by sight both in laboratory and…
Through predators’ eyes: phenotype–environment associations in shore crab coloration at different spatial scales
We thank Emil Aaltonen Foundation providing a young scientist grant for this research (O.N.). MS and AEL were supported by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) David Phillips Research Fellowship (BB/G022887/1).
Variable crab camouflage patterns defeat search image formation.
Understanding what maintains the broad spectrum of variation in animal phenotypes and how this influences survival is a key question in biology. Frequency dependent selection – where predators temporarily focus on one morph at the expense of others by forming a “search image” – can help explain this phenomenon. However, past work has never tested real prey colour patterns, and rarely considered the role of different types of camouflage. Using a novel citizen science computer experiment that presented crab “prey” to humans against natural backgrounds in specific sequences, we were able to test a range of key hypotheses concerning the interactions between predator learning, camouflage and mor…
Improved camouflage through ontogenetic colour change confers reduced detection risk in shore crabs
Abstract Animals from many taxa, from snakes and crabs to caterpillars and lobsters, change appearance with age, but the reasons why this occurs are rarely tested.We show the importance that ontogenetic changes in coloration have on the camouflage of the green shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), known for their remarkable phenotypic variation and plasticity in colour and pattern.In controlled conditions, we reared juvenile crabs of two shades, pale or dark, on two background types simulating different habitats for 10 weeks.In contrast to expectations for reversible colour change, crabs did not tune their background match to specific microhabitats, but instead, and regardless of treatment, all de…
Supplementary data for: Improved camouflage through ontogenetic colour change confers reduced detection risk in shore crabs
Many animals change appearance with age but the reasons why are rarely tested. Common shore crabs (Carcinus maenas), for example, are known for their ability to change colour over time. Young crabs show remarkable variation in coloration and it has been suggested that their variable appearance may help them to hide from predators in the habitats they use. However, as crabs grow they become more mobile and adult crabs, in contrast, are known to possess a more uniform coloration. This creates a problem: how to remain hidden in habitats that are variable and very different in appearance? To answer this, we first reared young shore crabs of two shades, pale or dark, on two background types rese…