Do aposematism and Batesian mimicry require bright colours? A test, using European viper markings Export

@article{citeulike:5998886, abstract = {10.1098/rspb.2004.2894 Predator avoidance of noxious prey, aposematism and defensive mimicry are normally associated with bright, contrasting patterns and colours. However, noxious prey may be unable to evolve conspicuous coloration because of other selective constraints, such as the need to be inconspicuous to their own prey or to specialist predators. Many venomous snakes, particularly most vipers, display patterns that are apparently cryptic, but nevertheless highly characteristic, and appear to be mimicked by other, non\^{a}€“venomous snakes. However, predator avoidance of viper patterns has never been demonstrated experimentally. Here, the analysis of 813 avian attacks on 12 636 Plasticine snake models in the field shows that models bearing the characteristic zigzag band of the adder () are attacked significantly less frequently than plain models. This suggests that predator avoidance of inconspicuously but characteristically patterned noxious prey is possible. Our findings emphasize the importance of mimicry in the ecological and morphological diversification of advanced snakes.}, author = {W\~{A}¼ster, Wolfgang and Allum, Christopher S. E. and Bjargard\~{A}³ttir, I. Birta and Bailey, Kimberley L. and Dawson, Karen J. and Guenioui, Jamel and Lewis, John and McGurk, Joe and Moore, Alix G. and Niskanen, Martti and Pollard, Christopher P.}, citeulike-article-id = {5998886}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2894}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/271/1556/2495.abstract}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/271/1556/2495.full.pdf}, citeulike-linkout-3 = {http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15590601}, citeulike-linkout-4 = {http://www.hubmed.org/display.cgi?uids=15590601}, day = {7}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.2004.2894}, journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences}, keywords = {camouflage, color, mimicry, plasticine\_models, snakes}, month = {December}, number = {1556}, pages = {2495--2499}, posted-at = {2009-10-24 00:38:22}, priority = {4}, title = {Do aposematism and Batesian mimicry require bright colours? A test, using European viper markings}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2894}, volume = {271}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:5998886 L3 - citeulike-article-id:5998886 N2 - 10.1098/rspb.2004.2894 Predator avoidance of noxious prey, aposematism and defensive mimicry are normally associated with bright, contrasting patterns and colours. However, noxious prey may be unable to evolve conspicuous coloration because of other selective constraints, such as the need to be inconspicuous to their own prey or to specialist predators. Many venomous snakes, particularly most vipers, display patterns that are apparently cryptic, but nevertheless highly characteristic, and appear to be mimicked by other, non–venomous snakes. However, predator avoidance of viper patterns has never been demonstrated experimentally. Here, the analysis of 813 avian attacks on 12 636 Plasticine snake models in the field shows that models bearing the characteristic zigzag band of the adder () are attacked significantly less frequently than plain models. This suggests that predator avoidance of inconspicuously but characteristically patterned noxious prey is possible. Our findings emphasize the importance of mimicry in the ecological and morphological diversification of advanced snakes. IS - 1556 JF - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences EP - 2499 TI - Do aposematism and Batesian mimicry require bright colours? A test, using European viper markings VL - 271 SP - 2495 KW - camouflage KW - color KW - mimicry KW - plasticine_models KW - snakes AU - Wüster, Wolfgang AU - Allum, Christopher AU - Bjargardóttir, Birta AU - Bailey, Kimberley AU - Dawson, Karen AU - Guenioui, Jamel AU - Lewis, John AU - McGurk, Joe AU - Moore, Alix AU - Niskanen, Martti AU - Pollard, Christopher PY - 2004/12/07/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2004.2894 ER -