The re-emergence of felid camouflage with the decay of predator recognition in deer under relaxed selection
The re-emergence of felid camouflage with the decay of predator recognition in deer under relaxed selection
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在宽松选择下，随着鹿捕食者识别能力的衰退，猫科动物伪装的重新出现
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发表时间：
2007
期刊：
影响因子：
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通讯作者：
R. Coss
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
T. Stankowich;R. Coss
当一种以前常见的捕食者由于局部灭绝而消失时，猎物在视觉上识别捕食者的自然选择的强大来源变得放松。目前，我们不知道对特定捕食者的识别在多大程度上被推广到相似的捕食者身上，也不知道特定的捕食者识别线索（如皮毛图案）在长时间的放松选择下是如何退化的。利用捕食者模型，我们发现鹿对它们目前的捕食者——美洲狮的反捕食反应比对美洲豹的反捕食反应更迅速、更强烈，美洲豹的反捕食反应与当地灭绝的捕食者——早期美洲虎的原始玫瑰结相似。一种具有条纹皮毛的新型老虎的出现，产生了对捕食者识别的中等速度和反捕食者行为的强度。人们对豹子模型的反应略高于对没有威胁的鹿模型的反应，这表明数千年的宽松选择导致人们不再把斑点皮毛作为美洲虎的识别线索，而斑点皮毛又重新获得了伪装猫科动物的能力。我们的研究结果揭示了进化上的军备竞赛，在采用伪装来促进狩猎和猎物通过它们以前的伪装模式快速识别捕食者的能力之间。
When a previously common predator disappears owing to local extinction, the strong source of natural selection on prey to visually recognize that predator becomes relaxed. At present, we do not know the extent to which recognition of a specific predator is generalized to similar looking predators or how a specific predator-recognition cue, such as coat pattern, degrades under prolonged relaxed selection. Using predator models, we show that deer exhibit a more rapid and stronger antipredator response to their current predator, the puma, than to a leopard displaying primitive rosettes similar to a locally extinct predator, an early jaguar. Presentation of a novel tiger with a striped coat engendered an intermediate speed of predator recognition and strength of antipredator behaviour. Responses to the leopard model slightly exceeded responses to a non-threatening deer model, suggesting that thousands of years of relaxed selection have led to the loss of recognition of the spotted coat as a jaguar-recognition cue, and that the spotted coat has regained its ability to camouflage the felid form. Our results shed light on the evolutionary arms race between adoption of camouflage to facilitate hunting and the ability of prey to quickly recognize predators by their formerly camouflaging patterns.