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Morphological mimicry and its potential for deterring bird predators.

dc.contributor.authorBabb, Lindseyen_US
dc.coverage.spatialUMBS Campusen_US
dc.date.accessioned2007-06-14T22:25:54Z
dc.date.available2007-06-14T22:25:54Z
dc.date.issued1995en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/54568
dc.description.abstractMimicry can impact a species' survival and fitness by increasing the species' ability to deter predators. Coloration is an integral component of mimicry, yet morphology may also influence mimicry success. Although bird predators are able to discern shapes and can associate palatability with prey shape, little is known about the deterrence of predators if the prey is exclusively a morphological mimic. To examine a mimic's potential to deter bird predators based soley on morphology, we presented free-foraging birds visiting a feeder with two types of artificial prey: white unpalatable worms and white palatable spheres. We observed the birds' preference for the two shapes over a seven day period. After the first day, the birds showed a significant preference for the palatable spheres overall, eating twice as many spheres as worms during this time period. The birds were able to distinguish between mimic shapes and to correlate palatability with shape, demonstrating that morphology could be an important element in mimicry. If morphology contributes significantly to the success of mimicry, shape mimicry may be a more common occurrence than previously considered.en_US
dc.format.extent272479 bytes
dc.format.extent3144 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.format.mimetypetext/plain
dc.relation.haspartGraphen_US
dc.subjectGeneral Ecologyen_US
dc.subject.otherBIRDSen_US
dc.subject.otherVERTEBRATESen_US
dc.subject.otherMIMICRYen_US
dc.subject.otherFEEDINGen_US
dc.subject.otherBEHAVIORen_US
dc.subject.otherPALATABILITYen_US
dc.subject.otherMORPHOLOGYen_US
dc.subject.otherPARUSen_US
dc.subject.otherSITTAen_US
dc.subject.otherQUISCALUSen_US
dc.subject.otherSPIZELLAen_US
dc.subject.otherFORAGINGen_US
dc.titleMorphological mimicry and its potential for deterring bird predators.en_US
dc.typeWorking Paperen_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelNatural Resource and Environmenten_US
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelScienceen_US
dc.contributor.affiliationumBiological Station, University of Michiganen_US
dc.contributor.affiliationumcampusAnn Arboren_US
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/54568/1/3007.pdfen_US
dc.description.filedescriptionDescription of 3007.pdf : Access restricted to on-site users at the U-M Biological Station.en_US
dc.owningcollnameBiological Station, University of Michigan (UMBS)


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