10.5061/DRYAD.79CNP5HRC
Allf, Bradley
0000-0003-1224-729X
North Carolina State University
Sparkman, Amanda
Westmont College
Pfennig, David
0000-0002-1114-534X
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Microevolutionary change in mimicry? Erosion of rattling behaviour among
nonvenomous snakes on islands lacking rattlesnakes
Dryad
dataset
2019
acoustic mimicry
Batesian mimicry
evolution on islands
Snakes
Microevolution
<i>Pituophis catenifer pumilis</i>
2021-06-23T00:00:00Z
2021-06-23T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2020.1837962
117311 bytes
7
CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Batesian mimics––harmless species that converge on the warning signals of
a dangerous species––are spectacular examples of adaptation, but few
documented cases involve acoustic signals. Even fewer studies have
documented microevolutionary change in mimicry of any kind. Here, we
describe potential evolutionary change in acoustic mimicry. Many
nonvenomous snakes vibrate their tail tip when threatened, making a sound
resembling a venomous rattlesnake. When we compared this behaviour between
gopher snakes from mainland California where rattlesnakes are present
versus nearby derived island populations where rattlesnakes are absent, we
found that island snakes vibrated their tail for a shorter duration. Thus,
defensive tail vibration may be acoustic mimicry of rattlesnakes that is
undergoing erosion in an area lacking rattlesnakes, providing evidence of
possible microevolutionary change in mimicry.