Aggressive Mimicry

Aggressive mimicry is as we defined it in our last blog post a predatory species that resembles a model that is harmless or beneficial to a third species (Cote and Cheney, 2004). To break that down further this means that a predator is utilising something that is either harmless or beneficial to its prey as enticement. The evolutionary pathway to aggressive mimicry could be simple and often would have come about to priduce a more diverse predator who can bring prey to themselves, without the large energy expenditure of hunting prey down. The path way to aggressive mimicry is varied and as such has led to many different evolutionary traits. This blog post is going to give examples of the variety and variation of aggressive mimicry.

Alligator Snapping Turtle with a successful catch

The first example of aggressive mimicry is the use of lures in both the Angler fish and Alligator Snapping Turtle. Both of these predators while living in completely different environments have evolved the usage of ‘lures’. These lures however are vastly different in appearance to cater for their intended prey.  In both cases the predators use these lures in a similar process to capture prey by using the lures to bring prey close to their mouths before attacking (Drummond, H. and Gordon, E. 2010, Wilson, D. 1937 ) .

Small predator the Margay Cat

The next approach to aggressive mimicry is the Margay. Despite its cute appearance the small cat utilises calls. The Margay baits its prey in differing ways mimicking the cries of an infant monkey, mating calls of a bird or other vocal signals (de Oliveira Calleia, F., Rohe, F. and Gordo, M. 2009).

The beautiful colour adaptation  of the Orchid mantis 

The Orchid mantis preys on pollinators and has evolved to change the pigments in its body to mimic that of a flower (O'Hanlon, J. 2014). With this adaption the mantis set up on a leaf or stem and waits for its prey.

As you can see the approach to aggressive mimicry is many and varied and these are just a few examples. In the next post we will approach the defensive mimicries in depth.

The Types of Mimicry

Last blog post we made an introduction to what the world of mimicry was. Mainly the focus was on the defensive form of mimicry however there are other banners under which different forms of mimicry fall. They are as follows:

Angler fish using its 'lure'
Credit: National geographic

Aggressive mimicry: a predatory species resembles a model that is harmless or beneficial to a third species. (Cote and Cheney, 2004)

These organisms utilise aggressive mimicry as predatory techniques which include utilising ‘lures’ such as the Angler fish or Alligator turtle, calls as used by Margay  and signals  created by  'femme fatal' Fireflies or habitat preparation used by the Orchid mantis or Golden orb spider

Heliconius butterfly's exemplify Mullerian
Mimicry as they all are unpalatable

Defensive mimicry: These mimics are the mimics that fall into the categories of:

Bastesian: where an edible prey species mimics a warning signal of an aposematic (unprofitable) model species to avoid predation (Ihalainen, 2006)

Mullerian : where aposematic species share a warning signal . Ihalainen, 2006)

Reproductive mimicry: These mimics have adapted in order to reproduce more successfully and can be seen mainly in flower mimicry however is seen in the animal kingdom as well in the form of Inter-sexual mimicry

Pouyannian mimicry:  behaviours similar to copulation that serve a reproductive function for one or both participants but do not involve actual sexual union between the individuals most generally applied to a pollinator attempting to copulate with a flower. (Pasteur, 1982)

Inter- Sexual mimicry: occurs when one sex mimics the opposite sex in its behaviour, appearance, or chemical signalling.

Auto mimicry: These mimics occur within a single species. The usage of auto mimicry means that one body part may resemble another to confuse predators.

Next post we will begin to focus on aggressive mimicry and the different forms that it can take

The pathway to Mimicry in Animals

Mimicry as a mode of deception is a weapon that many animals have evolved to make use of. Whether an organism has evolved mimicry as a form of camouflage or to be a specialist in hunting or attracting particular prey it is a trait seen a large portion of the animal kingdom. If evolution was a simple process and evolutionary pathways could be drawn linearly It would be interesting to note how some animals arrived in their current state due to their own selection pressures. It is this concept of evolutionary pathways to mimicry, the overlaps in evolutionary pathways and the various different types of mimicry that this blog will be focusing on.

  

Mimic Octopus Pretending to be a Stone fish

 As somewhat of an introduction point defining evolution as a response to environmental and population factors, selection pressures, random mutation helps to specify our perspectives a great deal in terms of studying the variety in animal life we currently see. In Nelson's (2013) work Evolutionary implications of deception in mimicry and masquerade" he defines two forms or mimicry, Batesian mimicry and Agressive mimicry. Batesian mimicry is the form in which an organism has resemblance to another organism for protection from; where as Aggressive mimicry has been classified as resemblance to another organism in order to obtain food whether this be the use of a bait or signals that their prey can pick up on. Nelson covers but a fraction of  the various forms of mimicry and the pathways that lead to them in his paper and it is the aim of this blog to piece together more information on Mimicry in the animal kingdom.

References:

Nelson, X. J. 2013. Evolutionary implications of deception in mimicry and masquerade. Current Zoology.

Collated References:

Nelson, X. J. 2013. Evolutionary implications of deception in mimicry and masquerade.
Current Zoology.

Cote, I. and Cheney, K. (2004). Distance-dependent costs and benefits of aggressive
mimicry in a cleaning symbiosis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences,
271(1557), pp.2627-2630.

Ihalainen, E. (2006). Experiments on defensive mimicry : linkages between predator
behaviour and qualities of the prey. Jyväskylä studies in biological and environmental
science, (171).

Pasteur, G. (1982). A Classificatory Review of Mimicry Systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst.,
13(1), pp.169-199.

de Oliveira Calleia, F., Rohe, F. and Gordo, M. (2009). Hunting Strategy of the
Margay ( Leopardus wiedii ) to Attract the Wild Pied Tamarin ( Saguinus bicolor
). Neotropical Primates, 16(1), pp.32-34.

Drummond, H. and Gordon, E. (2010). Luring in the Neonate Alligator Snapping
Turtle (Macroclemys temminckii): Description and Experimental
Analysis. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie, 50(2), pp.136-152.

O'Hanlon, J. (2014). The Roles of Colour and Shape in Pollinator Deception in
the Orchid Mantis Hymenopus coronatus. Ethology, 120(7), pp.652-661

Wilson, D. (1937). The Habits of the Angler-fish, Lophius piscatorius L., in the
Plymouth Aquarium.Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United 
Kingdom, 21(02), p.477.