Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary Biology
• Ecology
• Animal Behavior

Background:

• Natural selection drives antipredator strategies like camouflage and aposematism.
• Understanding ecological factors influencing these strategies is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how predator community, prey community, and visual environment affect predation risk for cryptic and aposematic prey.
• To determine the ecological conditions favoring camouflage versus aposematism.

Main Methods:

• A globally replicated predation experiment using 15,018 artificial paper "moth" prey.
• Prey exhibited either cryptic (camouflage) or warning (aposematic) coloration.
• Experiments were conducted across 21 sites on six continents.

Main Results:

• Aposematic strategies were favored in environments with low predation intensity.
• Camouflage strategies were advantageous when other camouflaged prey were rare.
• Camouflage was also favored in low light conditions.

Conclusions:

• Ecological context, including predation intensity, prey community composition, and light levels, significantly shapes antipredator strategies.
• This research elucidates mechanisms driving the evolution and distribution of camouflaged and aposematic animals worldwide.