Colour polymorphic lures exploit innate preferences for spectral versus luminance cues in dipteran prey.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Theory predicts that colour polymorphism may be favored by variation in the visual context under which signals are perceived. The context encompasses all environmental determinants of light availability and propagation, but also the dynamics of perception in receivers. Color vision involves the neural separation of information into spectral versus luminance channels, which often differentially guide specific tasks. Here we explicitly tested whether this discrete perceptual basis contributes to the maintenance of polymorphism in a prey-luring system. The orb-weaving spider Gasteracantha fornicata is known to attract a broad community of primarily dipteran prey due to their conspicuous banded dorsal signal. They occur in two morphs ("white" and "yellow") which should, resp

SUBMITTER: White TE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5557064 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature