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Related Experiment Videos

A protective function for aggressive mimicry?

Isabelle M Côté1, Karen L Cheney

  • 1Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. imcote@sfu.ca

Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|July 27, 2007
PubMed
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Aggressive mimicry, where predators mimic harmless species, can offer protection. Bluestriped fangblennies gain safety from predators by resembling cleaner wrasse, reducing victim retaliation.

Area of Science:

  • Marine Biology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Mimicry typically benefits prey by reducing predation risk.
  • Aggressive mimicry, where predators mimic prey or harmless species, was thought to offer little protection from predation to the mimic.
  • Bluestriped fangblennies (Plagiotremus rhinorhynchos) aggressively mimic juvenile bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if aggressive mimics, specifically bluestriped fangblennies, receive protection benefits from their mimicry.
  • To determine if resemblance to cleaner wrasse reduces predation risk or aggression from potential victims for fangblennies.
  • To compare the protective benefits of mimicry in bluestriped fangblennies with a non-mimetic relative.

Main Methods:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Field observations of bluestriped fangblennies and a non-mimetic species (Plagiotremus tapeinosoma).
  • Recording instances of chases by potential victims.
  • Analyzing the effect of proximity to model species (cleaner wrasse) on mimic survival and retaliation post-attack.

Main Results:

  • Mimetic bluestriped fangblennies were chased less frequently by potential victims compared to non-mimetic fangblennies.
  • Proximity to cleaner wrasse models protected mimics from retaliation by their own victims after attacks.
  • The protective effect of color similarity was less pronounced than the effect of physical proximity.

Conclusions:

  • Aggressive mimicry can provide significant protection benefits to the mimic, contrary to previous assumptions.
  • Both visual resemblance and physical proximity to models contribute to the protection of aggressive mimics.
  • The distinction between mimicry types based solely on accrued benefits may be an oversimplification, as benefits can overlap across mimicry strategies.