Toxicity and taste: unequal chemical defences in a mimicry ring.

Autor:	Winters AE; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia., Wilson NG; Molecular Systematics Unit, Western Australian Museum, 49 Kew St, Welshpool, Western Australia 6106, Australia.; School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia., van den Berg CP; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia., How MJ; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK., Endler JA; Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Science, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria 3216, Australia., Marshall NJ; Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia., White AM; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia., Garson MJ; School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia., Cheney KL; School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia k.cheney@uq.edu.au.; Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
Jazyk:	angličtina
Zdroj:	Proceedings. Biological sciences [Proc Biol Sci] 2018 Jun 13; Vol. 285 (1880).
DOI:	10.1098/rspb.2018.0457
Abstrakt:	Mimicry of warning signals is common, and can be mutualistic when mimetic species harbour equal levels of defence (Müllerian), or parasitic when mimics are undefended but still gain protection from their resemblance to the model (Batesian). However, whether chemically defended mimics should be similar in terms of toxicity (i.e. causing damage to the consumer) and/or unpalatability (i.e. distasteful to consumer) is unclear and in many studies remains undifferentiated. In this study, we investigated the evolution of visual signals and chemical defences in a putative mimicry ring of nudibranch molluscs. First, we demonstrated that the appearance of a group of red spotted nudibranchs molluscs was similar from the perspective of potential fish predators using visual modelling and pattern analysis. Second, using phylogenetic reconstruction, we demonstrated that this colour pattern has evolved multiple times in distantly related individuals. Third, we showed that these nudibranchs contained different chemical profiles used for defensive purposes. Finally, we demonstrated that although levels of distastefulness towards Palaemon shrimp remained relatively constant between species, toxicity levels towards brine shrimp varied significantly. We highlight the need to disentangle toxicity and taste when considering chemical defences in aposematic and mimetic species, and discuss the implications for aposematic and mimicry signal evolution. (© 2018 The Author(s).)
Databáze:	MEDLINE
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