Mimicry Cycles, Traps, and Chains: The Coevolution of Toucan and Kiskadee Mimicry

Interspecific social dominance mimicry (ISDM) is a form of social parasitism in which a subordinate species evolves to mimic and deceive a dominant interference competitor in order to avoid attack by the dominant species. ISDM has been proposed to result in (1) antagonistic coevolutionary arms races in appearance between the model and the mimic (e.g., Ramphastos toucans) and (2) the evolution of complexes of multiple species converging on a common visual appearance (e.g., kiskadee flycatchers). We present evolutionary games of antagonistic coevolution in appearance between pairs and triplets of sympatric species under interference competition. We identify conditions for the existence and stability of (1) coevolutionary mimicry cycles in appearance between evader and pursuer strategies of models and mimics, (2) mimicry chains in which three or more species are coevolutionarily entrained to evolve a single common appearance despite differences in their costs and benefits, and (3) mimicry traps in which a subdominant species is evolutionarily constrained from evading mimicry by a third, subordinate mimic species. Mimicry cycles will result in the evolutionary divergence of models and mimics from their ancestral phenotypes. The hierarchical evolutionary dynamics of ISDM traps and chains resemble Müllerian mimicry with variable costs to toxicity.