Environment-dependent attack rates of cryptic and aposematic butterflies.

ABSTRACT: Many organisms have evolved adaptive coloration that reduces their risk of predation. Cryptic coloration reduces the likelihood of detection/recognition by potential predators, while warning or aposematic coloration advertises unprofitability and thereby reduces the likelihood of attack. Although some studies show that aposematic coloration functions better at decreasing attack rate than crypsis, recent work has suggested and demonstrated that crypsis and aposematism are both successful strategies for avoiding predation. Furthermore, the visual environment (e.g., ambient lighting, background) affects the ability for predators to detect prey. We investigated these 2 related hypotheses using 2 well-known visually aposematic species of Heliconius butterflies, which occupy different hab

SUBMITTER: Seymoure BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6178784 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature