4 results match your criteria: "Faculty of Agriculture University of the Ryukyus Okinawa Japan.[Affiliation]"

The positive association between disturbances and biological invasions is a widely observed ecological pattern in the Anthropocene. Such patterns have been hypothesized to be driven by the superior competitive ability of invaders or by modified environments, as well as by the interaction of these factors. An experimental study that tests these hypotheses is usually less feasible, especially in protected nature areas.

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Batesian mimicry is a striking example of Darwinian evolution, in which a mimetic species resembles toxic or unpalatable model species, thereby receiving protection from predators. In some species exhibiting Batesian mimicry, nonmimetic individuals coexist as polymorphism in the same population despite the benefits of mimicry. In a previous study, we proposed that the abundance of mimics is limited by that of the models, leading to polymorphic Batesian mimicry in the swallowtail butterfly, on the Ryukyu Islands in Japan.

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Article Synopsis
  • Batesian mimicry helps species avoid predators by resembling unpalatable models, but some mimetic species still have nonmimetic individuals.
  • The study investigates why this mimetic polymorphism occurs, proposing that the number of mimics is related to the abundance of models, along with factors like ancestry and distance.
  • Research on butterflies in the Ryukyus shows that the ratio of mimics corresponds with model abundance, suggesting predation pressure drives this polymorphism, while genetic analysis points to the southern island populations as the main source of diversity.
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Sexual traits are subject to evolutionary forces that maximize reproductive benefits and minimize survival costs, both of which can depend on environmental conditions. Latitude explains substantial variation in environmental conditions. However, little is known about the relationship between sexual trait variation and latitude, although body size often correlates with latitude.

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