Barber Jesse R, Conner William E
Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, 226 Winston Hall, Winston-Salem, NC 27106, USA.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 May 29;104(22):9331-4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0703627104. Epub 2007 May 21.
Mimicry of visual warning signals is one of the keystone concepts in evolutionary biology and has received substantial research attention. By comparison, acoustic mimicry has never been rigorously tested. Visualizing bat-moth interactions with high-speed, infrared videography, we provide empirical evidence for acoustic mimicry in the ultrasonic warning sounds that tiger moths produce in response to echolocating bats. Two species of sound-producing tiger moths were offered successively to naïve, free-flying red and big brown bats. Noctuid and pyralid moth controls were also offered each night. All bats quickly learned to avoid the noxious tiger moths first offered to them, associating the warning sounds with bad taste. They then avoided the second sound-producing species regardless of whether it was chemically protected or not, verifying both Müllerian and Batesian mimicry in the acoustic modality. A subset of the red bats subsequently discovered the palatability of the Batesian mimic, demonstrating the powerful selective force these predators exert on mimetic resemblance. Given these results and the widespread presence of tiger moth species and other sound-producing insects that respond with ultrasonic clicks to bat attack, acoustic mimicry complexes are likely common components of the acoustic landscape.
视觉警示信号的拟态是进化生物学中的关键概念之一，已受到大量研究关注。相比之下，声学拟态从未得到过严格测试。通过高速红外摄像技术对蝙蝠与蛾类的互动进行可视化研究，我们为虎蛾在回应回声定位蝙蝠时发出的超声波警示声中的声学拟态提供了实证依据。我们将两种能发声的虎蛾先后提供给未经接触、自由飞行的红蝙蝠和大棕蝠。每晚也会提供夜蛾科和螟蛾科的蛾类作为对照。所有蝙蝠很快就学会避开最初提供给它们的有毒虎蛾，将警示声与难吃的味道联系起来。然后，无论第二种能发声的物种是否具有化学防护，它们都会避开，从而验证了声学模式下的缪勒拟态和贝氏拟态。一部分红蝙蝠随后发现了贝氏拟态者的可口性，这表明这些捕食者对拟态相似性施加了强大的选择压力。鉴于这些结果以及虎蛾物种和其他对蝙蝠攻击以超声波咔哒声做出反应的能发声昆虫的广泛存在，声学拟态复合体很可能是声学景观的常见组成部分。
