Resemblance to the Enemy’s Eyes Underlies the Intimidating Effect of Eyespots

Kjernsmo, Karin; Merilaita, Sami

doi:10.1086/693473

Cited by 20 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…More recently, however, Kjernsmo & Merilaita (2013) found that with artificial prey and predator-naive three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), prey eyespots smaller than the predator fish's own eye very effectively deflected the attacks of sticklebacks. These same authors have since found that mimicry of predators' eyes through eyespot patterning can be key in evoking hesitation in attacks, as well as deflecting them, because predators associate those eyelike displays with their own enemies (Kjernsmo & Merilaita 2017). Marks of different shapes -including eyespots and eye stripes -seem to differ in their effectiveness at deflecting predators (Kjernsmo et al 2016), and undoubtedly we will learn more about the anti-predatory influence of fish patterning in future studies.…”

Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 95%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Deflection occurs in predator-prey interactions where prey possess traits that influence the position of the predator's initial contact with the prey's body in a way that enhances the prey's probability of survival when attacked. As an anti-predatory defence occurring late in the sequence of an attack, deflection is an understudied but fascinating strategy involving a range of unusual adaptations in diverse prey species. Deflective traits have been postulated to be important to the defensive strategies of a range of organisms, but while evidence for its existence is quite variable among groups, we argue that previous research neglects some promising taxa. As a defence, deflection will probably play a crucial role in the behavioural ecology and evolution of both prey species and their predators; as such it warrants greater interest from zoologists. Here, we first summarise what is known about deflection from the current literature. We next offer predictions about the coevolutionary possibilities surrounding deflection, based on the benefits and costs experienced by prey and their predators. Finally, we outline the most interesting outstanding avenues for future research in the field of deflection and make novel suggestions as to how they could be usefully explored.

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Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 95%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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“…Examples include the conspicuous underwings of Catacola moths (Sargent, 1990). Debate continues over whether circular spots function to startle predators or mimic the eyes of a larger predator (Stevens & Ruxton, 2014) but mounting evidence suggests that eye‐like markings can intimidate fish (Kjernsmo & Merilaita, 2017), that circular spots on butterfly wings prevent or delay an attack because of their resemblance to the eyes of bird predators (De Bona et al ., 2015), or because they elicit fear responses in predators (Olofsson et al ., 2012). We suspect that deimatic displays are likely to be more effective with larger markings and be used primarily against visually hunting predators.…”

Section: Individual Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an ecology of protective coloration

Caro

Koneru

2020

Biological Reviews

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The strategies underlying different forms of protective coloration are well understood but little attention has been paid to the ecological, life‐history and behavioural circumstances under which they evolve. While some comparative studies have investigated the ecological correlates of aposematism, and background matching, the latter particularly in mammals, few have examined the ecological correlates of other types of protective coloration. Here, we first outline which types of defensive coloration strategies may be exhibited by the same individual; concluding that many protective coloration mechanisms can be employed simultaneously, particularly in conjunction with background matching. Second, we review the ecological predictions that have been made for each sort of protective coloration mechanism before systematically surveying phylogenetically controlled comparative studies linking ecological and social variables to antipredator defences that involve coloration. We find that some a priori predictions based on small‐scale empirical studies and logical arguments are indeed supported by comparative data, especially in relation to how illumination affects both background matching and self‐shadow concealment through countershading; how body size is associated with countershading, motion dazzle, flash coloration and aposematism, although only in selected taxa; how immobility may promote background matching in ambush predators; and how mobility may facilitate motion dazzle. Examination of nearly 120 comparative tests reveals that many focus on ecological variables that have little to do with predictions derived from antipredator defence theory, and that broad‐scale ecological studies of defence strategies that incorporate phylogenetics are still very much in their infancy. We close by making recommendations for future evolutionary ecological research.

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“…This location does not support the deflective function of eyespots since strikes would be directed towards the viscera or head. Therefore, eyespots in this location are more likely to be functioning through intimidation or predator mimicry (Kjernsmo and Merilaita 2017), or by making prey appear larger to gape‐limited predators (Mihalitsis and Bellwood 2017). By contrast, active species most often possess eyespots towards the posterior portion of the dorsal fin.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Drivers of eyespot evolution in coral reef fishes

et al. 2021

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Evolution via natural selection has continually shaped the coloration of numerous organisms. One coloration of particular importance is the eyespot: a phylogenetically widespread, conspicuous marking that has been shown to effectively reduce predation, often through its resemblance to the eye. Although widely studied, most research has been experimental in nature. We approach eyespots using a comparative phylogenetic framework that is global in scope. Herein, we identify the potential drivers of eyespot evolution in coral reef fishes; essentially the rules that govern their appearance in this group of organisms. We surveyed 2664 reef fish species (42% of all described reef fish species) and found that eyespots are present in approximately one in every 10 species. Most eyespots occur in closely related species and have been present in some families for over 50 million years. Focusing on damselfishes (family: Pomacentridae) as a study group, we reveal that eyespots are rare in planktivorous species, which is likely driven by the predation risk associated with their feeding location. Using a heatmapping technique, we also show that the location of eyespots is fundamentally different in active fishes that swim above the benthos vs. cryptobenthic fishes that rest on the benthos. These location differences may reflect different functions of eyespots among reef fish species.

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Resemblance to the Enemy’s Eyes Underlies the Intimidating Effect of Eyespots

Cited by 20 publications

References 44 publications

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Towards an ecology of protective coloration

Drivers of eyespot evolution in coral reef fishes

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