title: Deimatism: a neglected component of antipredator defence.
abstract: Deimatic or 'startle' displays cause a receiver to recoil reflexively in response to a sudden change in sensory input. Deimatism is sometimes implicitly treated as a form of aposematism (unprofitability associated with a signal). However, the fundamental difference is, in order to provide protection, deimatism does not require a predator to have any learned or innate aversion. Instead, deimatism can confer a survival advantage by exploiting existing neural mechanisms in a way that releases a reflexive response in the predator. We discuss the differences among deimatism, aposematism, and forms of mimicry, and their ecological and evolutionary implications. We highlight outstanding questions critical to progress in understanding deimatism.
authors.affiliation: School of Science and Health, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia k.umbers@westernsydney.edu.au.|Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia.
authors.forename: Kate D L
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9375-4527
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Umbers
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Jyväskylä, 40100, Finland.
authors.forename: Sebastiano
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-6193-7073
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: De Bona
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Thomas E
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-3976-1734
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Jussi
authors.identifier: 0000-0001-5260-1041
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lehtonen
authors.affiliation: University of Jyväskylä, Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Jyväskylä, 40100, Finland.
authors.forename: Johanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mappes
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Waurn Ponds, VIC, 3216, Australia.
authors.forename: John A
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7557-7627
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Endler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D005075:Biological Evolution; D004924:Escape Reaction; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Acripeza; aposematism; camouflage; predator–prey; startle reflex; warning colours