Increased predation of nutrient-enriched aposematic prey
Christina G. Halpin,John Skelhorn,Candy Rowe +2 more
TLDR
It is shown that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) increase their intake of a toxic prey type when the nutritional content is artificially increased, and decrease their intake when nutritional enrichment is ceased, demonstrating that birds can detect the nutritionalcontent of toxic prey by post-ingestive feedback, and use this information in their foraging decisions, raising new perspectives on the evolution of prey defences.Abstract:
Avian predators readily learn to associate the warning coloration of aposematic prey with the toxic effects of ingesting them, but they do not necessarily exclude aposematic prey from their diets. By eating aposematic prey ‘educated’ predators are thought to be trading-off the benefits of gaining nutrients with the costs of eating toxins. However, while we know that the toxin content of aposematic prey affects the foraging decisions made by avian predators, the extent to which the nutritional content of toxic prey affects predators' decisions to eat them remains to be tested. Here, we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) increase their intake of a toxic prey type when the nutritional content is artificially increased, and decrease their intake when nutritional enrichment is ceased. This clearly demonstrates that birds can detect the nutritional content of toxic prey by post-ingestive feedback, and use this information in their foraging decisions, raising new perspectives on the evolution of prey defences. Nutritional differences between individuals could result in equally toxic prey being unequally predated, and might explain why some species undergo ontogenetic shifts in defence strategies. Furthermore, the nutritional value of prey will likely have a significant impact on the evolutionary dynamics of mimicry systems.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Learning about aposematic prey
TL;DR: The aim of the review is to promote the view that predators do not simply learn to avoid aposematic prey, but rather make adaptive decisions about both when to gather information about defended prey and when to include them in their diets.
Journal ArticleDOI
Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm?
Emmanuelle Sophie Briolat,Emily Burdfield-Steel,Sarah Catherine Paul,Sarah Catherine Paul,Katja Rönkä,Katja Rönkä,Brett M. Seymoure,Theodore Stankowich,Adam M. M. Stuckert +8 more
TL;DR: A greater appreciation of the extent of variation in aposematic species, and of the selective pressures and constraints which contribute to this once‐paradoxical phenomenon, yields a new perspective for the field of Aposematic signalling.
Journal ArticleDOI
Distance-dependent defensive coloration in the poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius, Dendrobatidae
James B. Barnett,Constantine Michalis,Nicholas E. Scott-Samuel,Nicholas E. Scott-Samuel,Innes C. Cuthill +4 more
TL;DR: It is found that the bright colors of Dendrobates tinctorius are highly salient at close-range but blend together to match the background when viewed from a distance, forming effective camouflage.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dietary protein selection in a free-ranging urban population of common myna birds
Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska,Alistair M. Senior,Simon P. Zantis,Katherine Barna,Aaron J. Cowieson,Sarika Pandya,Christophe Pavard,Michael Shiels,David Raubenheimer +8 more
TL;DR: The RMT shows that mynas at the urban study site are deficient in protein relative to fats and carbohydrates, suggesting that protein is a contestable resource.
Journal ArticleDOI
Aposematism: Unpacking the Defences.
Tim Caro,Graeme D. Ruxton +1 more
TL;DR: Two orthogonal defence categorizations help to frame where dishonest signalling occurs in nature, set limits on deception by dishonest Batesian mimics, and prompt new questions into the evolution of aposematism.
References
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Book
Avoiding Attack: The Evolutionary Ecology of Crypsis, Warning Signals and Mimicry
TL;DR: A comparison of Batesian and Mullerian Mimicry with mathematical and computer models that deal with Mullerian mimcry found that Batesian mimicry is superior to Mullerian mimicry in terms of both accuracy and efficiency.
Journal ArticleDOI
Nutrient-Specific Foraging in Invertebrate Predators
David Mayntz,David Raubenheimer,David Raubenheimer,Mor Salomon,Søren Toft,Stephen J. Simpson +5 more
TL;DR: It is showed experimentally that invertebrate predators can forage selectively for protein and lipids to redress specific nutritional imbalances.
Journal ArticleDOI
Evolutionary aspects of tail shedding in lizards and their relatives
TL;DR: It is argued that loss of caudal autotomy has occurred when the costs of tail shedding outweigh its benefits and likely costs include the expense of re...
Journal ArticleDOI
A fitness cost of learning ability in Drosophila melanogaster
Frederic Mery,Tadeusz J. Kawecki +1 more
TL;DR: It is shown that the evolution of an improved learning ability in replicated experimental fly populations has been consistently associated with a decline of larval competitive ability, compared with replicated control populations, providing evidence for a constitutive fitness cost of learning ability.
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