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Color polymorphic lures target different visual channels in prey.

Thomas E White1, Darrell J Kemp2

  • 1Department of Biological Science, Macquarie University, North Ryde, 2109, Australia. thomas.white@mq.edu.au.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|May 12, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Color polymorphism in spiders may enhance prey attraction. Yellow and white morphs of Gasteracantha fornicata spiders are optimized for different visual contrasts, suggesting adaptive maintenance of color diversity.

Keywords:
Communicationdeceptionsensory trapsignalspider

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Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Color polymorphism can be favored by selection for signal efficacy in variable environments.
  • The role of color polymorphism in non-sexual signaling systems, such as prey attraction, is not well understood.
  • Orb-web spiders utilize visual signals to attract prey, but the adaptive significance of their color variations remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that color morphs in the orb-web spider Gasteracantha fornicata are tuned to optimize either chromatic or achromatic conspicuousness for prey attraction.
  • To investigate how different color signals (yellow vs. white) influence conspicuousness in visually noisy forest environments from the perspective of dipteran vision.
  • To determine if color polymorphism is adaptively maintained by selection for conspicuousness through different visual channels in prey.

Main Methods:

  • Extensive field observations of naturally occurring Gasteracantha fornicata spiders and their prey capture events.
  • Precise assessments of the visual environments inhabited by the spiders.
  • Modeling of signal conspicuousness based on dipteran visual systems, analyzing chromatic and achromatic contrast.
  • Further modeling across a range of hypothetical lure variations to confirm signal effectiveness.

Main Results:

  • Modeling revealed a distinct bias in chromatic (yellow morph) or achromatic (white morph) contrast presented by spiders during prey capture.
  • Yellow morphs were most successful when their signal maximized color contrast against backgrounds.
  • White morphs were most successful when their signal maximized luminance contrast.
  • Further modeling confirmed that yellow and white signals differentially enhance chromatic and achromatic conspicuousness to flies, respectively.

Conclusions:

  • Color polymorphism in Gasteracantha fornicata is likely adaptively maintained by selection for conspicuousness through different visual channels in dipteran prey.
  • The findings suggest that selection for signal efficacy in variable environments can favor color polymorphism even outside of sexual selection contexts.
  • This study provides evidence for the adaptive significance of color diversity in predator-prey interactions mediated by visual signaling.