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http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220680120 | DOI Listing |
Proc Biol Sci
January 2025
Department of Biology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Batesian mimicry occurs when palatable mimics gain protection from predators by evolving a phenotypic resemblance to an aposematic model species. While common in nature, the mechanisms maintaining mimicry are not fully understood. Patterns of temporal synchrony (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiol Lett
January 2025
Department of Agricultural and Environmental Biology, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Butterfly wing patterns exhibit notable differences between the dorsal and ventral surfaces, and morphological analyses of them have provided insights into the ecological and behavioural characteristics of wing patterns. Conventional methods for dorsoventral comparisons are constrained by the need for homologous patches or shared features between two surfaces, limiting their applicability across species. We used a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based analysis, which can compare images of the two surfaces without focusing on homologous patches or features, to detect dorsoventral bias in two types of intraspecific variation: sexual dimorphism and mimetic polymorphism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElife
December 2024
Evolution & Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Eyespot patterns have evolved in many prey species. These patterns were traditionally explained by the eye mimicry hypothesis, which proposes that eyespots resembling vertebrate eyes function as predator avoidance. However, it is possible that eyespots do not mimic eyes: according to the conspicuousness hypothesis, eyespots are just one form of vivid signals where only conspicuousness matters.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZool Res
November 2024
State Key Laboratory of Biocatalysis and Enzyme Engineering, and Centre for Behavioural Ecology & Evolution, School of Life Sciences, Hubei University, Wuhan, Hubei 430062, China.
Animals deploy diverse color-based defenses against predators, including crypsis, mimicry, aposematism, and masquerade. While crypsis, mimicry, aposematism have been extensively studied, the strategy of masquerade-where organisms imitate inedible or inanimate objects such as leaves, twigs, stones, and bird droppings-remains comparatively underexplored, particularly in adult butterflies. The Indian oakleaf butterfly ( ) exemplifies this phenomenon, with its wings resembling dead leaves, providing a classic example of natural selection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Biol
October 2024
Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn TR10 9FE, UK. Electronic address:
Melanism drives both crypsis and mimicry in butterflies and moths. To date, melanism has been mapped to a structural gene called cortex, but now more detailed work shows that in fact it is controlled by non-coding RNAs at the same locus.
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