Search results for "ECOLOGY"
showing 10 items of 15385 documents
Safety in Numbers: How Color Morph Frequency Affects Predation Risk in an Aposematic Moth
2021
Polymorphic warning signals in aposematic systems are enigmatic because predator learning should favor the most common form, creating positive frequency-dependent survival. However, many populations exhibit variation in warning signals. There are various selective mechanisms that can counter positive frequency-dependent selection and lead to temporal or spatial warning signal diversification. Examining these mechanisms and their effects requires first confirming whether the most common morphs are favored at both local and regional scales. Empirical examples of this are uncommon and often include potentially confounding factors, such as a lack of knowledge of predator identity and behavior. …
The Effect of Predator Population Dynamics on Batesian Mimicry Complexes.
2022
Understanding Batesian mimicry is a classic problem in evolutionary biology. In Batesian mimicry, a defended species (the model) is mimicked by an undefended species (the mimic). Prior theories have emphasized the role of predator behavior and learning as well as evolution in model-mimic complexes but have not examined the role of population dynamics in potentially governing the relative abundances and even persistence of model-mimic systems. Here, we examined the effect of the population dynamics of predators and alternative prey on the prevalence of warning-signaling prey composed of models and mimics. Using optimal foraging theory and signal detection theory, we found that the inclusion …
Heterozygote advantage and pleiotropy contribute to intraspecific color trait variability
2022
The persistence of intrapopulation phenotypic variation typically requires some form of balancing selection because drift and directional selection eventually erode genetic variation. Heterozygote advantage remains a classic explanation for the maintenance of genetic variation in the face of selection. However, examples of heterozygote advantage, other than those associated with disease resistance, are rather uncommon. Across most of its distribution, males of the aposematic moth Arctia plantaginis have two hindwing phenotypes determined by a heritable one locus-two allele polymorphism (genotypes: WW/Wy = white morph, yy = yellow morph). Using genotyped moths, we show that the presence of o…
Predator-Induced Plasticity on Warning Signal and Larval Life-History Traits of the Aposematic Wood Tiger Moth, Arctia plantaginis
2021
Correction Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Volume 9 Article Number 737651 DOI 10.3389/fevo.2021.737651 Published JUL 29 2021 Predator-induced plasticity in life-history and antipredator traits during the larval period has been extensively studied in organisms with complex life-histories. However, it is unclear whether different levels of predation could induce warning signals in aposematic organisms. Here, we investigated whether predator-simulated handling affects warning coloration and life-history traits in the aposematic wood tiger moth larva, Arctia plantaginis. As juveniles, a larger orange patch on an otherwise black body signifies a more efficient warning signal against predators…
The impact of life stage and pigment source on the evolution of novel warning signal traits
2021
Our understanding of how novel warning color traits evolve in natural populations is largely based on studies of reproductive stages and organisms with endogenously produced pigmentation. In these systems, genetic drift is often required for novel alleles to overcome strong purifying selection stemming from frequency-dependent predation and positive assortative mating. Here, we integrate data from field surveys, predation experiments, population genomics, and phenotypic correlations to explain the origin and maintenance of geographic variation in a diet-based larval pigmentation trait in the redheaded pine sawfly (Neodiprion lecontei), a pine-feeding hymenopteran. Although our experiments c…
Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm?
2019
Aposematic theory has historically predicted that predators should select for warning signals to converge on a single form, as a result of frequency-dependent learning. However, widespread variation in warning signals is observed across closely related species, populations and, most problematically for evolutionary biologists, among individuals in the same population. Recent research has yielded an increased awareness of this diversity, challenging the paradigm of signal monomorphy in aposematic animals. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of these disparate lines of investigation, identifying within them three broad classes of explanation for variation in aposematic warning signals: …
The complete mitochondrial genome of the wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) and phylogenetic analyses within Arctiinae
2021
We report the assembly and annotation of the complete mitochondrial genome of the warningly-coloured wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis) and investigate its phylogenetic position within Arctiinae. The A.plantaginis mitogenome is 15,479 bp long with 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, and an A + T-rich region (D-loop). The phylogenetic analyses based on 13 protein-coding genes showed A.plantaginis clustering within a clade of species with white wings and yellow or red bodies. This result can be useful in understanding the evolution of coloration in Arctiid moths. Peer reviewed
Hieracium umbrosum subsp. abietinum (Asteraceae), a further example of amphi-Adriatic disjunction
2017
So far considered as endemic to Greece, Hieracium umbrosum subsp. abietinum is reported as new for the Italian flora. Its presence has been noted on the Pollino National Park (S Italy). Morphological, ecological and taxonomical notes are given. This discovery increases the list of taxa showing an amphi-Adriatic distribution.
First record of Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. (Malvaceae) as a casual alien species in the Mediterranean area
2022
Sphaeralcea bonariensis (Cav.) Griseb. is here reported for the first time as alien species in Italy and in the Mediterranean area. It is a perennial shrub native to Southern America, where it is often considered a ruderal species frequent in cultivated areas. It was found in a population of a few individuals within Opuntia ficus-indica groves of Rocca Palumba territory (Western Sicily). Actually, due to short-term observational period and the low number of plants, Sphaeralcea bonariensis should be considered as a casual species in Italy. The ecological characteristics of the growing stand and the consistency of the population, as well as the possible causes of its introduction, are briefly…
Author Correction: Evaluation of three methods for biomass estimation in small invertebrates, using three large disparate parasite species as model o…
2018
Invertebrate biomass is considered one of the main factors driving processes in ecosystems. It can be measured directly, primarily by weighing individuals, but more often indirect estimators are used. We developed two indirect and non-destructive approaches to estimate biomass of small invertebrates in a simple manner. The first one was based on clay modelling and the second one was based on image analysis implemented with open-source software. Furthermore, we tested the accuracy of the widely used geometric approximation method (third method). We applied these three different methods to three morphologically disparate model species, an acanthocephalan worm, a crustacean and a flatworm. To …