Differential detectability of polymorphic warning signals under varying light environments

Rojas, Bibiana; Rautiala, Petri

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2014.08.014

Cited by 66 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…The outcomes can in turn contribute to the baseline of bottom-up knowledge, thereby providing crucial real-world feedback about the generalizability of visual and perceptual principles. Studies such as Schaefer et al (2006) and Rojas et al (2014) exemplify this approach and offer great potential for articulating the link between color variation and perception in nature.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…These studies address the generalizability of principles considered as fundamental to color vision and processing in animals. Similarly, knowledge of behavioral responses to color variation in natural settings (e.g., Schaefer et al 2006;Rojas et al 2014) may play an important role in linking theoretical prediction to the visual complexity of the real world (see below).…”

Section: The Ultimate Importance Of Behaviormentioning

confidence: 98%

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An Integrative Framework for the Appraisal of Coloration in Nature

Kemp

Herberstein

Fleishman

et al. 2015

The American Naturalist

222

251

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The world in color presents a dazzling dimension of phenotypic variation. Biological interest in this variation has burgeoned, due to both increased means for quantifying spectral information and heightened appreciation for how animals view the world differently than humans. Effective study of color traits is challenged by how to best quantify visual perception in nonhuman species. This requires consideration of at least visual physiology but ultimately also the neural processes underlying perception. Our knowledge of color perception is founded largely on the principles gained from human psychophysics that have proven generalizable based on comparative studies in select animal models. Appreciation of these principles, their empirical foundation, and the reasonable limits to their applicability is crucial to reaching informed conclusions in color research. In this article, we seek a common intellectual basis for the study of color in nature. We first discuss the key perceptual principles, namely, retinal photoreception, sensory channels, opponent processing, color constancy, and receptor noise. We then draw on this basis to inform an analytical framework driven by the research question in relation to identifiable viewers and visual tasks of interest. Consideration of the limits to perceptual inference guides two primary decisions: first, whether a sensory-based approach is necessary and justified and, second, whether the visual task refers to perceptual distance or discriminability. We outline informed approaches in each situation and discuss key challenges for future progress, focusing particularly on how animals perceive color. Given that animal behavior serves as both the basic unit of psychophysics and the ultimate driver of color ecology/evolution, behavioral data are critical to reconciling knowledge across the schools of color research.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: The Ultimate Importance Of Behaviormentioning

confidence: 98%

An Integrative Framework for the Appraisal of Coloration in Nature

Kemp

Herberstein

Fleishman

et al. 2015

The American Naturalist

222

251

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…) or changes in detectability (Rojas et al. ). Also, warning signals, especially multicomponent signals, may evolve to be effective across a broader range of light environments and predator perception (Partan & Marler ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…) and variation in light environments may influence predation on defended animals (Rojas et al. ). Little light is available at dawn and dusk and tends to be rich in short wavelengths so that diffusely reflected long‐wavelength visual signals may be difficult to see.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Warning Signal Efficacy: Assessing the Effects of Color, Iridescence, and Time of Day in the Field

2015

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Warning coloration deters predators from attacking distasteful or toxic prey. Signal features that influence warning color effectiveness are not well understood, and in particular, we know very little about how effective short-wavelength and iridescent colors are as warning color elements in nature and how warning signal effectiveness changes throughout the day. We tested the effect of these factors on predation risk in nature using specimens of the distasteful pipevine swallowtail butterfly, Battus philenor. B. philenor adults display both iridescent blue and diffusely reflecting orange components in their warning signal. We painted B. philenor wings to create five different model types: all-black, only-iridescent-blue, onlyorange, iridescent-blue-and-orange (intact signal), and matte-blue-andorange. We placed 25 models in each of 14 replicate field sites for 72 h and checked for attacks three times each day. Model type affected the likelihood of attack; only-orange models were, the only model attacked significantly less than the all-black model. Iridescence did not enhance or decrease warning signal effectiveness in our experiment because matteblue-and-orange models were attacked at the same rate as iridescentblue-and-orange models. Time of day did not differentially affect model type. Video recordings of attacks revealed that insectivorous birds were responsible. The results of this experiment, when taken with previous work, indicate that the response to blue warning coloration is likely dependent on predator experience and context, but that iridescence per se does not affect warning signals in a natural context.

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“…Also, another study with wild birds showed that achromatic (non‐coloured) Heliconius models were attacked significantly more than coloured models of a local pattern, demonstrating the importance of aposematic signals in avoiding predation (Finkbeiner et al , 2014). Furthermore, an experiment with model poison frogs [ Dendrobates tinctorius (Schneider)] showed varying attack rates of wild tropical predators in different light conditions (Rojas et al , 2014). Still, few studies, to date, have explored attack rates on different coloured models using wild birds and under natural conditions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Avoidance of an aposematically coloured butterfly by wild birds in a tropical forest

Dell’Aglio

Stevens

Jiggins

2016

Ecological Entomology

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1. Birds are considered to be the primary selective agents for warning colouration in butterflies, and select for aposematic mimicry by learning to avoid brightly coloured prey after unpleasant experiences. It has long been thought that bright colouration plays an important role in promoting the avoidance of distasteful prey by birds.2. The hypothesis that warning colouration facilitates memorability and promotes predator avoidance was tested by means of a field experiment using distasteful model butterflies. Artificial butterflies with a Heliconius colour pattern unknown to local birds were generated using bird vision models, either coloured or achromatic, and hung in tree branches in a tropical forest. Two sequential trials were conducted at each site to test avoidance by naïve and experienced predators.3. There was a significant reduction in predation in the second trial. Also, coloured models were attacked less than achromatic models. Specifically, coloured butterflies were attacked significantly less in the second trial, but there was no significant decrease in predation on achromatic models.4. The present results imply an important role for colour in enhancing aversion of aposematic butterflies. It has also been demonstrated that previous experience of distasteful prey can lead to enhanced avoidance in subsequent trials, supporting mimicry theory.

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Differential detectability of polymorphic warning signals under varying light environments

Cited by 66 publications

References 85 publications

An Integrative Framework for the Appraisal of Coloration in Nature

An Integrative Framework for the Appraisal of Coloration in Nature

Warning Signal Efficacy: Assessing the Effects of Color, Iridescence, and Time of Day in the Field

Avoidance of an aposematically coloured butterfly by wild birds in a tropical forest

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