A multifunctional warning signal behaves as an agonistic status signal in a poison frog
A multifunctional warning signal behaves as an agonistic status signal in a poison frog
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DOI：
10.1093/beheco/aru231
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发表时间：
2015-03-01
影响因子：
2.4
通讯作者：
Cummings, Molly E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Crothers, Laura R.;Cummings, Molly E.
警戒物种使用明显的“警告”信号向潜在的捕食者传达无利可图的信息。尽管警告信号是自然选择进化而来的交流系统的典型例子，但它们也可以在性交流的背景下发挥作用，因此对于研究多种选择下的显着性状进化特别有用。为了测试警戒信号是否也有助于调解性内纠纷，我们在其本土观察了一种高度领地性毒蛙物种（Oophaga pumilio）的雄性，并在实验性的二元竞赛中观察了身体特征（例如警告信号亮度和体型）对领地互动结果的影响。我们在这里报告，尽管雄性的体型（口鼻部长度）和质量都不能显着预测雄性在二元竞争中的攻击性（叫声潜伏期），但雄性的背部亮度是发起攻击性互动意愿的重要预测因素，较明亮的雄性比较迟钝的雄性表现出更短的叫声潜伏期。此外，雄性之间的亮度不对称性可以预测竞争的结果，例如在升级的攻击性试验中（双方雄性都叫唤），不对称性较小，而在不对称性较大的试验中，更聪明的雄性更有可能成为唯一的攻击者。这些测试与之前的工作相结合，提供了证据表明警告色已被选为这种警戒性两栖动物的竞争指示性状，并揭示了通过自然选择产生的显着性状的潜在进化不稳定性。
Aposematic species use conspicuous "warning" signals to communicate unprofitability to potential predators. Although warning signals are classic examples of communication systems that evolved by natural selection, they can also function in the context of sexual communication and are therefore particularly useful for investigating conspicuous trait evolution under multifarious selection. To test whether aposematic signals also serve to mediate intrasexual disputes, we observed males from a highly territorial poison frog species (Oophaga pumilio) in their native territories and in experimental dyadic contests to assess the influences of body characteristics such as warning signal brightness and body size on the outcomes of territorial interactions. We report here that although neither male size (snout-vent length) nor mass significantly predicted male aggressiveness (latency to call) in dyadic contests, a male's dorsal brightness was a significant predictor of willingness to initiate aggressive interactions, with brighter males exhibiting a shorter latency to call than duller males. Furthermore, brightness asymmetries between males predicted the outcomes of contests such that asymmetries were smaller in escalated aggression trials (where both males called), and brighter males were more likely to be the sole aggressor in trials with large asymmetries. These tests, combined with previous work, provide evidence that warning coloration has been co-opted as an agonistic indicator trait in this aposematic amphibian and reveal the potential evolutionary lability of conspicuous traits that arise through natural selection.