Aposematic signals in North American black widows are more conspicuous to predators than to prey

被引:30
作者
Brandley, Nicholas [1 ,2 ]
Johnson, Matthew [1 ]
Johnsen, Soenke [1 ]
机构
[1] Duke Univ, Dept Biol, Box 90338, Durham, NC 27708 USA
[2] Colorado Coll, Dept Organismal Biol & Ecol, 14 East Cache La Poudre St, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 USA
关键词
aposematism; communication; Latrodectus; private signaling; warning signals; LATRODECTUS-HESPERUS ARANEAE; COLOR-VISION; PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS; WARNING COLORATION; SHIFTING BALANCE; SEXUAL SELECTION; DISTASTEFUL PREY; RECEPTOR NOISE; VISUAL ECOLOGY; EVOLUTION;
D O I
10.1093/beheco/arw014
中图分类号
B84 [心理学]; C [社会科学总论]; Q98 [人类学];
学科分类号
03 ; 0303 ; 030303 ; 04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
The iconic red hourglass of the black widow spiders (genus Latrodectus) is traditionally considered an aposematic signal, yet experimental evidence is lacking. Here, we present data that suggest that black widow coloration may have evolved to be an aposematic signal that is more conspicuous to their vertebrate predators than to their insect prey. In choice experiments with wild birds, we found that the red-and-black coloration deters potential predators: Wild birds were similar to 3 times less likely to attack a black widow model with an hourglass than one without. Using visual-system appropriate models, we also found that a black widow's red-and-black color combo is more apparent to a typical bird than a typical insect. Additionally, an ancestral reconstruction reveals that red dorsal coloration is ancestral in black widows and that at some point some North American widows lost their red dorsal coloration. Behaviorally, differences in red dorsal coloration between 2 North American species are accompanied by differences in microhabitat that affects how often a bird will view a black widow's dorsal region. All observations are consistent with a cost-benefit trade-off of being more conspicuous to predators than to prey. We suggest that limiting detection by prey may help explain why red and black aposematic signals occur frequently in nature.
引用
收藏
页码:1104 / 1112
页数:9
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