Preferential predation of female butterflies and the evolution of batesian mimicry

Ohsaki, Naota

doi:10.1038/378173a0

Cited by 97 publications

(96 citation statements)

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“…We know of only one other example of aposematic sexual dichromatism: femalelimited mimicry in butterflies (38). This may be explained by higher predation pressure on females in combination with stabilizing sexual selection maintaining the ancestral color pattern in males (39,40). For O. pumilio, our experiments suggest that the brightness dimorphism we observed in Solarte frogs may be the product of sexual selection by female choice.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Sexual dimorphism and directional sexual selection on aposematic signals in a poison frog

Maan

Cummings

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

172

194

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It is commonly assumed that natural selection imposed by predators is the prevailing force driving the evolution of aposematic traits. Here, we demonstrate that aposematic signals are shaped by sexual selection as well. We evaluated sexual selection for coloration brightness in populations of the poison frog Oophaga [Dendrobates] pumilio in Panama's Bocas del Toro archipelago. We assessed female preferences for brighter males by manipulating the perceived brightness of spectrally matched males in two-way choice experiments. We found strong female preferences for bright males in two island populations and weaker or ambiguous preferences in females from mainland populations. Spectral reflectance measurements, coupled with an O. pumilio-specific visual processing model, showed that O. pumilio coloration was significantly brighter in island than in mainland morphs. In one of the island populations (Isla Solarte), males were significantly more brightly colored than females. Taken together, these results provide evidence for directional sexual selection on aposematic coloration and document sexual dimorphism in vertebrate warning coloration. Although aposematic signals have long been upheld as exemplars of natural selection, our results show that sexual selection should not be ignored in studies of aposematic evolution.aposematism ͉ color ͉ dendrobates ͉ divergence ͉ polymorphism

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 57%

Sexual dimorphism and directional sexual selection on aposematic signals in a poison frog

Maan

Cummings

2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

172

194

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“…In warningly colored and mimetic butterflies the females are often more vulnerable (Ohsaki 1995). There is indeed a strong male bias among rare forms in this hybrid zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESTIMATING THE MATING BEHAVIOR OF A PAIR OF HYBRIDIZING HELICONIUS SPECIES IN THE WILD

1998

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Abstract.-Premating isolation between incipient species is rarely studied in nature, even though mating tests in captivity may give an inaccurate picture of natural hybridization. We studied premating barriers between the warningly colored butterflies Heliconius erato and H. himera (Lepidoptera) in a narrow contact zone in Ecuador, where hybrids are found at low frequency. Eggs obtained from wild-mated females, supplemented with eggs and young larvae collected from the wild, were reared to adulthood. Adult color patterns of these progeny were then used to infer how their parents must have mated. Likelihood was used to estimate both the frequencies of potential parental genotypes from adult phenotypes collected in the wild, and the degree of assortative mating from the inferred parents. The frequencies of parental genotypes varied across the hybrid zone, but our statistical method allowed estimates of hybrid deficit and assortative mating to be integrated across all sites sampled. The best estimate of the frequency of F, and backcross hybrid adults in the center of the hybrid zone was 10%, with support limits (7.1%, 13.0%; support limits are asymptotically equivalent to 95% confidence limits). Mating was highly assortative: in the center of the hybrid zone the cross-mating probability between H. erato and H. himera was only 5% (0.3%, 21.4%). Wild hybrids themselves mated with both pure forms, and the probabilities that they mated in any direction were not significantly lower than those among con specifics. These results are consistent with earlier laboratory studies on mate choice, and suggest that selection against hybrids must be strong to prevent formation of a hybrid swarm. Unfortunately, the wide support limits on mating behavior precluded a measure of the strength of selection from these data alone. Our statistical approach provides a useful general method for estimating mate choice in the wild.

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“…Several Rutaceae-feeding black swallowtails such as Papilio macilentus and P. protenor (females of the former are highly mimetic to A. alcinous males) often share the same microhabitat spatiotemporally in the middle part of Japan. Potential higher predation on females due to behavioral vulnerability may underlie behind this mechanism (Ohsaki 1995(Ohsaki 2005. Thus, in addition to the chemistry, further studies are warranted especially on the geographical variations of wing color in both the butterflies and moths but also on the potential interspecific impacts from co-occurring Batesian mimics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical Ecology of Poisonous Butterflies: Model or Mimic? A Paradox of Sexual Dimorphisms in Müllerian Mimicry

Nishida

2017

Diversity and Evolution of Butterfly Wing Patterns

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A number of butterfly species are toxic or unpalatable against predators by developing mechanisms either to biosynthesize such noxious elements de novo or to acquire directly from the poisonous host plants for their own defense. Most of these "poisonous butterflies" exhibit aposematically colored wing patterns that are often associated either with Batesian or Müllerian mimicry species to form a "mimicry ring." This review focuses on unpalatable chemical elements potentially operating in three typical mimicry rings: (1) the tiger Danaus mimicry ring, (2) the Idea mimicry ring, and (3) the red-bodied swallowtail mimicry ring, in association with their mimetic wing patterns. Female-limited polymorphisms are a common feature of the Batesian mimicry but not in Müllerian mimicry, because such diversification is unfavorable for the models. I present here some unique cases of sexual dimorphisms within the putative Müllerian mimicry complexes. A Danaus chrysippus-mimicking nymphalid, Argyreus hyperbius, is a typical example of the female-limited dimorphic mimics. However, A. hyperbius were found to be poisonous with toxic cyanogenic glycosides (linamarin and lotaustralin). Likewise, a pipevine swallowtail, Atrophaneura alcinous, which sequesters toxic aristolochic acids, exhibits sexually dimorphic color patterns (male, black; female, smoky brown). A sympatric diurnal zygaenid moth, Histia flabellicornis, is mimetic to A. alcinous males rather than the females and stores cyanogenic glycosides. The moth is regarded as a Müllerian ally that may have stabilized the wing coloration mutually with those of A. alcinous males. On the contrary, a diurnal "swallowtail moth," Epicopeia hainesii, mimics the brighter wing color of A. alcinous females. Possible adaptation mechanisms on these paradoxical mimicry patterns are discussed.

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Preferential predation of female butterflies and the evolution of batesian mimicry

Cited by 97 publications

References 6 publications

Sexual dimorphism and directional sexual selection on aposematic signals in a poison frog

Sexual dimorphism and directional sexual selection on aposematic signals in a poison frog

ESTIMATING THE MATING BEHAVIOR OF A PAIR OF HYBRIDIZING HELICONIUS SPECIES IN THE WILD

Chemical Ecology of Poisonous Butterflies: Model or Mimic? A Paradox of Sexual Dimorphisms in Müllerian Mimicry

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