Endless forms most beautiful:
A sensory ecology approach to understand the evolution of aposematic colour polymorphism
Main funder
Funder's project number: 310406
Funds granted by main funder (€)
- 255 834,00
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2017
Project end date: 31/08/2020
Summary
Our understanding on the meaning and use of animal coloration has been accumulating over 125 years. Yet, we have a lack of knowledge on the mechanisms that initiate, shape, and maintain the variation in coloration. My approach will study patterns in spatial and temporal aspects of selection for several traits of warning coloration in the wood tiger moth (Arctia plantaginis). Vision modelling combined to digital photographing methods as well as predation experiments are used. The combination of surveys across global distribution of the species and phylogenetic relationships between populations is used to reconstruct evolutionary history of polymorphism to understand the spread of the colour constituents. This is important, because it will illuminate our understanding on the processes that generate and maintain diversity we see in the nature.
Principal Investigator
Primary responsible unit
Related publications and other outputs
- Context-dependent coloration of prey and predator decision making in contrasting light environments (2022) Nokelainen, Ossi; et al.; A1; OA
- Camouflage accuracy in Sahara-Sahel desert rodents (2020) Nokelainen, Ossi; et al.; A1; OA
- Camouflage in arid environments : the case of Sahara-Sahel desert rodents (2020) Nokelainen, Ossi; et al.; A1; OA
