How the ladybird got its spots : effects of resource limitation on the honesty of aposematic signals Blount, Jonathan D., Rowland, Hannah M., Drijfhout, Falko P., Endler, John A., Inger, Richard, Sloggett, John J., Hurst, Gregory D. D., Hodgson, David J. and Speed, Michael P. 2012, How the ladybird got its spots : effects of resource limitation on the honesty of aposematic signals, Functional ecology, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 334-342, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01961.x. Attached Files Name Description MIMEType Size Downloads Title How the ladybird got its spots : effects of resource limitation on the honesty of aposematic signals Author(s) Blount, Jonathan D. Rowland, Hannah M. Drijfhout, Falko P. Endler, John A. orcid.org/0000-0002-7557-7627 Inger, Richard Sloggett, John J. Hurst, Gregory D. D. Hodgson, David J. Speed, Michael P. Journal name Functional ecology Volume number 26 Issue number 2 Start page 334 End page 342 Total pages 9 Publisher Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Place of publication Oxford, England Publication date 2012 ISSN 0269-8463 1365-2435 Keyword(s) Aposematism Carotenoids Coccinella septempunctata Coccinelline Phenotypic plasticity Precoccinelline Summary Prey species often possess defences (e.g. toxins) coupled with warning signals (i.e. aposematism). There is growing evidence that the expression of aposematic signals often varies within species and correlates with the strength of chemical defences. This has led to the speculation that such signals may be 'honest', with signal reliability ensured by the costliness of producing or maintaining aposematic traits. We reared larval seven-spot ladybirds (Coccinella septempunctata) on a Low or High aphid diet and measured the effects on warning signal expression (elytral carotenoid pigmentation, conspicuousness, spot size), levels of defensive alkaloids (precoccinelline, coccinelline), and relationships between these traits. High-diet individuals had greater total precoccinelline levels, and elytra carotenoid concentrations at adulthood which was detectable to a typical avian predator. However, larval diet did not significantly affect adult body mass or size, spot size or coccinelline levels. Elytra carotenoid concentrations correlated positively with total precoccinelline levels in both diet groups and sexes. However, the relationship between elytra carotenoid concentrations and total levels of coccinelline depended on sex: in both diet groups, elytra carotenoids and coccinelline levels were positively correlated in females, but negatively correlated in males. Spot size and coccinelline levels correlated positively in Low-diet individuals, but negatively in High-diet individuals. These results point to physiological linkages between components of aposematism, which are modulated by resource (i.e. food) availability and affect the honesty of signals. Developmental diet, but also sex, influenced the relationships between signals and toxin levels. Ladybirds are sexually size dimorphic, and thus in comparison with males, females may be more susceptible to resource limitation and more likely to be honest signallers. © 2012 The Authors. Functional Ecology © 2012 British Ecological Society. Language eng DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2012.01961.x Field of Research 060801 Animal Behaviour 060399 Evolutionary Biology not elsewhere classified Socio Economic Objective 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal Copyright notice ©2012, The Authors. Functional Ecology 2012, British Ecological Society Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30047055 Document type: Journal Article Collections: School of Life and Environmental Sciences Centre for Integrative Ecology Related Links Link Description Connect to published version (restricted access) Go to link with your DU access privileges     Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in DRO is owned by the author, with all rights reserved. Versions Version Filter Type Mon, 13 Aug 2012, 13:10:48 EST Wed, 26 Sep 2012, 17:05:52 EST Tue, 02 Oct 2012, 11:42:18 EST Tue, 02 Oct 2012, 11:43:48 EST Fri, 13 Jun 2014, 14:47:41 EST Filtered Full Citation counts:   Cited 40 times in TR Web of Science Cited 39 times in Scopus Search Google Scholar Access Statistics: 445 Abstract Views, 5 File Downloads  -  Detailed Statistics Created: Mon, 13 Aug 2012, 13:10:48 EST

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