Ogilvie James G, Van Belleghem Steven, Range Ryan, Papa Riccardo, McMillan Owen W, Chouteau Mathieu, Counterman Brian A
Department of Biological Sciences Auburn University Auburn Alabama USA.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Panama City Panama.
Ecol Evol. 2021 Dec 8;11(24):18319-18330. doi: 10.1002/ece3.8423. eCollection 2021 Dec.
The evolution of mimicry in similarly defended prey is well described by the Müllerian mimicry theory, which predicts the convergence of warning patterns in order to gain the most protection from predators. However, despite this prediction, we can find great diversity of color patterns among Müllerian mimics such as butterflies in the neotropics. Furthermore, some species have evolved the ability to maintain multiple distinct warning patterns in single populations, a phenomenon known as polymorphic mimicry. The adaptive benefit of these polymorphisms is questionable since variation from the most common warning patterns is expected to be disadvantageous as novel signals are punished by predators naive to them. In this study, we use artificial butterfly models throughout Central and South America to characterize the selective pressures maintaining polymorphic mimicry in . Our results highlight the complexity of positive frequency-dependent selection, the principal selective pressure driving convergence among Müllerian mimics, and its impacts on interspecific variation of mimetic warning coloration. We further show how this selection regime can both limit and facilitate the diversification of mimetic traits.
在同样具有防御机制的猎物中，拟态的进化可以通过缪勒拟态理论得到很好的描述，该理论预测警告模式的趋同是为了从捕食者那里获得最大程度的保护。然而，尽管有这一预测，但我们在新热带地区的缪勒拟态者（如蝴蝶）中可以发现色彩模式的巨大多样性。此外，一些物种已经进化出在单一群体中维持多种不同警告模式的能力，这种现象被称为多态拟态。这些多态性的适应性益处值得怀疑，因为与最常见的警告模式不同的变异预计是不利的，因为新的信号会受到对其不熟悉的捕食者的惩罚。在本研究中，我们在中美洲和南美洲各地使用人工蝴蝶模型来描述维持多态拟态的选择压力。我们的结果突出了正频率依赖选择的复杂性，这是驱动缪勒拟态者之间趋同的主要选择压力，及其对模拟警告色种间变异的影响。我们进一步展示了这种选择机制如何既能限制又能促进模拟性状的多样化。
