Transparency improves concealment in cryptically coloured moths
2020
Arias, Mónica | Elias, Marianne | Andraud, Christine | Berthier, Serge | Gomez, Doris | Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) ; Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro ; Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro) | Institut de Systématique, Evolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB ) ; Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE) ; Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université des Antilles (UA) | Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN) | Institut des Nanosciences de Paris (INSP) ; Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Nanostructures et optique (INSP-E4) ; Institut des Nanosciences de Paris (INSP) ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | ANR-16-CE02-0012,CLEARWING,La transparence : origine physique, fonctions adaptatives et évolution chez les papillons transparents(2016)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Predation is a ubiquitous and strong selective pressure on living organisms. Transparency is a predation defence widespread in water but rare on land. Some Lepidoptera display transparent patches combined with already cryptic opaque patches. A recent study showed that transparency reduced detectability of aposematic prey with conspicuous patches. However, whether transparency has any effect at reducing detectability of already cryptic prey is still unknown. We conducted field predation experiments with free avian predators where we monitored and compared survival of a fully opaque grey artificial form (cryptic), a form including transparent windows and a wingless artificial butterfly body. Survival of the transparent forms was similar to that of wingless bodies and higher than that of fully opaque forms, suggesting a reduction of detectability conferred by transparency. This is the first evidence that transparency decreases detectability in cryptic terrestrial prey. Future studies should explore the organization of transparent and opaque patches in animals and their interplay on survival, as well as the costs and other potential benefits associated with transparency on land.
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