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Aposematism: Unpacking the Defences.

Tim Caro¹, Graeme Ruxton²

¹Center for Population Biology and Department of Wildlife, Fish and Conservation Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.

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|April 28, 2019

Summary

Animals use various defenses, not just toxins, to deter predators. Classifying these defenses as overt or covert offers new insights into the evolution of warning signals and deception in nature.

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Area of Science:

Evolutionary biology
Animal behavior
Ecology

Background:

Aposematic coloration typically signals unpalatability to predators.
Animals possess diverse defenses including malodour, spines, weaponry, and toxins.
These defenses vary in visibility (overt vs. covert) and timing of action (pre-contact, contact, post-ingestion).

Purpose of the Study:

To re-evaluate the evolution of aposematism by categorizing animal defenses.
To explore how overt and covert defenses influence signal honesty and deception.
To understand the role of defense timing in predator-prey interactions.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis of defense strategies in aposematic animals.
Categorization of defenses into overt (visible) and covert (hidden) types.
Examination of defense activation timing relative to predator encounter (pre-contact, contact, post-ingestion).

Main Results:

Overt defenses are signaled by signals that are difficult to fake.
Covert defenses, especially those acting later in the predatory sequence, are more susceptible to deception.
The categorization framework reveals distinct pathways for honest and dishonest signaling.

Conclusions:

Classifying defenses by visibility and timing provides novel insights into aposematism evolution.
This framework helps delineate the occurrence and limits of dishonest signaling in nature.
New research questions arise regarding the interplay of defense types and predator perception.