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9 results for “colour plasticity”

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dryad36/100

Data from: Colour plasticity alters thermoregulatory behaviour in Battus philenor caterpillars by modifying the cue received

Behaviour is an important way for animals to rapidly respond to changes in their current environment; however, over extended periods animals can also respond to environmental change via slower, developmental plasticity in other traits. This developmental plasticity could itself alter the animal's behaviour in two ways: it could change the state of the aspect of the animal's current environment that induces the behaviour (the cue), or it could change the physiology underlying production of that behaviour (the behavioural reaction norm). We tested these alternatives for two responses to temperature, colour plasticity and refuge-seeking behaviour, in pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor, caterpillars. Prior research found that black caterpillars seek thermal refuges at lower ambient temperatures than red caterpillars in the field. Here, we found that the effect of colour on behaviour in the laboratory depended on how we heated the caterpillars. When warmed by radiant heat, black caterpillars sought refuge sooner than red caterpillars, as occurs in nature. In contrast, when warmed by conduction of heat, black caterpillars no longer sought refuges sooner than red caterpillars. Both colour morphs began seeking refuges at the same body temperature in both experiments, and the sensitivity of their metabolic rate to temperature was also the same. Taken together, our findings indicate that while colour does change the cue for refuge seeking, it does not change the behaviour's reaction norm. Similar cue-mediated interactions may often occur for thermoregulatory behaviour in other species.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

dryad36/100

Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis

Within-species variation in colour phenotypes is widespread in animals. One mechanism by which such variation can be maintained is plastic background matching, where individuals plastically develop a similar colour to that of their surroundings. A few examples are known from insects that exhibit green-brown colour polyphenisms. But the extent to which plastic colour responses are shaped by other factors, such as genetic variation in plasticity or the interaction of other environmental cues, is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the plasticity of body colouration in the springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra—a species where hatchlings emerge brown in colour and typically change to green but sometimes remain entirely or partly brown through successive moults. We reared 350 mantises from 10 full-sib families on a green or brown background under a high or low temperature and a high or low humidity using a fully-factorial, split-brood design, and recorded colour phenotypes (all green, all brown, or mixed colouration) after 14 weeks of development. We found very strong evidence of developmental plasticity for background matching: the green background induced a higher incidence of the all-green phenotype, whereas the brown background produced more of the all-brown and mixed phenotypes. The all-green phenotype was also universally more common under higher humidity, and under higher temperature when the background was green. However, not all body parts showed the same level of environmental sensitivity: the steepest reaction norms were observed in the mid-legs and hindlegs, potentially reflecting the selection for disruptive colouration of the body outline in browner environments. Using model comparison techniques, we found little evidence of genotype-level variation in colour plasticity—a pattern likely the result of strong viability selection for camouflage. Our study shows how developmental plasticity in colouration can be triggered directly by the colour of the environment and indirectly by climatic cues associated with habitat colouration. We argue that this high level of developmental plasticity has likely evolved due to the diversity of habitats but the sedentary lifestyle of this sit-and-wait predator.

opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

dryad36/100