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The price of defence: Toxins, visual signals and oxidative state in an aposematic butterfly
journal contribution
posted on 2023-02-21, 01:58 authored by JD Blount, HM Rowland, C Mitchell, MP Speed, GD Ruxton, John EndlerJohn Endler, LP BrowerIn a variety of aposematic species, the conspicuousness of an individual's warning signal and the quantity of its chemical defence are positively correlated. This apparent honest signalling is predicted by resource competition models which assume that the production and maintenance of aposematic defences compete for access to antioxidant molecules that have dual functions as pigments and in protecting against oxidative damage. To test for such trade-offs, we raised monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) on different species of their milkweed host plants (Apocynaceae) that vary in quantities of cardenolides to test whether (i) the sequestration of cardenolides as a secondary defence is associated with costs in the form of oxidative lipid damage and reduced antioxidant defences; and (ii) lower oxidative state is associated with a reduced capacity to produce aposematic displays. In male monarchs conspicuousness was explained by an interaction between oxidative damage and sequestration: males with high levels of oxidative damage became less conspicuous with increased sequestration of cardenolides, whereas those with low oxidative damage became more conspicuous with increased levels of cardenolides. There was no significant effect of oxidative damage or concentration of sequestered cardenolides on female conspicuousness. Our results demonstrate a physiological linkage between the production of coloration and oxidative state, and differential costs of sequestration and signalling in monarch butterflies.
History
Journal
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological SciencesVolume
290Pagination
20222068-Location
London, Eng.Publisher DOI
ISSN
0962-8452eISSN
1471-2954Language
enPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalIssue
1991Publisher
The Royal SocietyUsage metrics
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No categories selectedKeywords
Danaus plexippusaposematismcardenolideshonest signallingoxidative lipid damageresource competitionAnimalsMaleButterfliesLarvaAntioxidantsAsclepiasToxins, BiologicalCardenolidesOxidative Stress15 Life on LandSchool of Life and Environmental SciencesCentre for Integrative EcologyFaculty of Science Engineering and Built EnvironmentBiological SciencesAgricultural and Veterinary SciencesMedical and Health Sciences
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