Search results for "MIMICRY"
showing 10 items of 120 documents
Relative importance of taste and visual appearance for predator education in Müllerian mimicry
2006
Mullerian mimicry, by definition, is the visual resemblance between two or more aposematic prey species. According to classical Mullerian mimicry theory, comimics draw mutual benefits from the resemblance because predators have to learn to avoid only one colour pattern. In contrast, the relatively untested quasi-Batesian mimicry theory suggests that, because of differences in unpalatablility, the less toxic mimic acts like a parasite on the more defended prey, decreasing its fitness. We tested predation pressures on artificial mimicry complexes in which comimics varied both in visual similarity and in taste. Both signal and taste were important for the survival of comimics. Predators learne…
A tale of 2 signals: signal mimicry between aposematic species enhances predator avoidance learning
2010
Mullerian mimicry, where 2 or more unrelated aposematic species resemble one another, is predicted to reduce the per capita mortality of co-mimics by allowing them to share the cost of educating nao ¨ve predators about their unpalatability. However, the specific assumptions and predictions of Muller's theory of shared resemblance have been previously unsupported; some authors have suggested that the benefits of signal similarity are undetectable or at best very small. We demonstrate clearly and un- ambiguously that mimicry between 2 defended forms can provide substantial protection from uneducated predators in the manner proposed originally by Muller. By utilizing prey signals that were des…
Can experienced birds select for Müllerian mimicry?
2008
Field experiments have shown that avian predators in the wild can select for similarity of warning signals in aposematic prey (Müllerian mimicry) because a common signal is better protected than a signal that is novel and rare. The original theory of Müllerian mimicry assumes that the mechanism promoting mimicry is predator learning; by sharing a signal, the comimic species share the mortality that is due to sampling by inexperienced predators. Predation events have not been observed in the wild, and learning experiments with naive bird predators in a laboratory have not unambiguously shown a benefit of a uniform signal compared with different signals. As predators in the field experiments …
Whence pseudoscience? An epidemiological approach
2017
In this paper, we develop an epidemiological approach to account for the typical features and persistent popularity of pseudoscience. An epidemiology of pseudoscience aims at explaining why some beliefs become widely distributed whereas others do not and hence seeks to identify the factors that exert a causal effect on this distribution. We pinpoint and discuss several factors that promote the dissemination of pseudoscientific beliefs. In particular, we argue that such beliefs manage to spread widely because they are intuitively appealing, manage to hitchhike on the authority of science, and successfully immunize themselves from criticism.
Application of 3-Quinolinoyl Picket Porphyrins to the Electroreduction of Dioxygen to Water: Mimicking the Active Site of Cytochromec Oxidase
2001
International audience
‘World-class’ fantasies : A neocolonial analysis of international branch campuses
2018
In this article, we build on postcolonial studies and discourse analytical research exploring how the ‘world-class’ discourse as an ideology and a fantasy structures neocolonial relations in international branch campuses. We empirically examine how international branch campuses reproduce the fantasy of being so-called world-class operators and how the onsite faculty members identify with or resist this world-class fantasy through mimicry. Our research material originates from fieldwork conducted in business-school international branch campuses operating in the United Arab Emirates. Our findings show the ambivalent nature of mimicry towards the world-class fantasy to include both compliance …
Coiled-Coil Lipopeptides Mimicking the Prehairpin Intermediate of Glycoprotein gp41
2009
T Cell Receptor Mimic Peptidesand Their Potential Application in T-Cell-Mediated Diseas e
2001
<i>Background:</i> A T cell receptor (TCR) peptide was designed that mimics the intramembranous amino acid sequence of the TCR chain. Prior studies had shown that this mimic peptide would inhibit TCR signaling. This study was designed to investigate the use of this mimic peptide for the treatment of T-cell-mediated skin diseases. <i>Methods:</i> Synthesized mimic peptides were first tested for their T-cell-inhibitory effect in proliferation assays. Afterwards, mimic peptides were applied to murine ear skin prior to application of a contact allergen and tested for their inhibitory effect in the model of murine allergic contact sensitivity. The effect of epicutaneous t…
Like suspended particles: The long way to social inclusion of a Roma community in Sicily
2010
The ethnographic research conducted since four years focuses on the case of a nomad camp in Palermo, town in Southern Italy, where three Roma groups live since twenty-five years, in condition of ghetto. This nomad camp constitutes a world out of the city, better an encompassed microcosm, even if it is located inside the downtown. This means that there are not interrelations between the camp and the rest of the external space. Specifically, the three different groups (Xoraxane, Cergara and Serbians) represent for the outside a generic nebulous whole, confined in a green area, surrounded by a high wall. Don’t see them signifies don’t care about them, about their living conditions, about their…