title: Colour Polymorphism Protects Prey Individuals and Populations Against Predation.
abstract: Colour pattern polymorphism in animals can influence and be influenced by interactions between predators and prey. However, few studies have examined whether polymorphism is adaptive, and there is no evidence that the co-occurrence of two or more natural prey colour variants can increase survival of populations. Here we show that visual predators that exploit polymorphic prey suffer from reduced performance, and further provide rare evidence in support of the hypothesis that prey colour polymorphism may afford protection against predators for both individuals and populations. This protective effect provides a probable explanation for the longstanding, evolutionary puzzle of the existence of colour polymorphisms. We also propose that this protective effect can provide an adaptive explanation for search image formation in predators rather than search image formation explaining polymorphism.
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMIS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden.
authors.forename: Einat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Karpestam
authors.affiliation: Behavioural and Evolutionary Ecology Group, Environmental and Marine Biology, Department of Biosciences, Åbo Akademi University, FI-20520 Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Merilaita
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Evolution in Microbial Model Systems, EEMIS, Department of Biology and Environmental Science, Linnaeus University, SE-391 82 Kalmar, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Forsman
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003116:Color; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000502:physiology; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000502:physiology*; D011156:Population Density; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D010860:Pigments, Biological