If you were a butterfly, would you rather choose bright, statement colors to warn predators of your toxicity, or hide among the foliage with an appearance adapted to the environment, avoiding detection in the first place?
Since prey animals cannot choose their defense strategy through color, ecologists from around the world set out to discover how their environments made this decision for them by testing how differently colored paper moths attracted predators in various habitats.
Their results, published in Science, show that it all depends on how much risk predators are willing to take and how bright the environment is, demonstrating that even small changes in surroundings can shape the survival strategy of an entire species.
Prey Either Warns or Hides with Colors
The art of escaping predators has led to two distinct strategies when it comes to appearance. Either the prey camouflages within its surrounding environment, avoiding detection in plain sight, or it puts on the most colorful dress, intentionally inviting attention to let predators know exactly what they’re dealing with — a poisonous or highly aggressive snack that will only be enjoyed once.
Aposematism, displaying warning colors as a defense mechanism, is commonly found in insects and amphibians, such as poison dart frogs, monarch butterflies, and ladybugs. But even within the same family, some species blend in by camouflaging instead of showing loud colors.
So far, scientists have struggled to understand which environmental factors shape a species’ “decision” to pick one strategy over the other. That is why a large group of researchers collaborated on experiments spanning 21 sites across six continents, using more than 15,000 artificial, moth-like paper prey in three different color patterns (orange-and-black, dull brown, and unusually bright blue-and-black) to see how they would fare in different environments.
Read More: 5 Insects That Perfected the Art of Camouflage
Predator Competition and Brightness of Environment Are Key
The findings suggest that two main factors drive which coloring strategies protect best: competition among predators and how bright the environment is. Where competition between predators was strong, they were more likely to take risks by going for possibly poisonous prey, whereas camouflaged samples remained safer.
But if used excessively, camouflage became less effective. Predators learned to spot camouflaged prey more easily — especially in bright habitats. Under those circumstances, however, prey with classic warning colors had better chances of survival.
Discoveries like this underline how ecological factors shape adaptation, highlighting how even minute environmental changes can decide between the life and death of highly specialized individuals.
Multi-Continental Research is Best for Studying Evolution
“By combining experiments on a global scale, we’ve been able to answer questions about how animals survive that no single research group could tackle alone,” said study co-author Hannah Rowland of the University of Liverpool in a news statement.
The research team explained that by looking at how multiple factors interact on a global stage, they can better understand the evolution of some of the most common defense strategies in animals, knowledge that could also improve conservation efforts.
“This is the best of team and collaborative science — working across continents to understand a fundamental aspect of biodiversity and evolution,” Rowland added in the press release.
Read More: Inspired By Natural Camouflage Techniques, Humans Adapted Patterns for Warfare
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
- Max Planck Institute: Warning colour or camouflage
- Science: Global selection on insect antipredator coloration
