Batesian mimicry is named after Henry Walter Bates. Henry was an English explorer/naturalist whom surveyed the Amazon Rainforest for over a decade. In this time Bates collected over 100 species of butterfly and noticed whilst sorting them that some superficially resembled others. Bates put forward a hypothesis that this close resemblance was anti-predatory behavior, that one species was mimicking the warning colours but not the toxins of another.
Since Bates' time the concept of Batesian mimicry has evolved to include other aspects such as palatable moths mimicking the ultrasonic waves of unpalatable species to avoid predation by bats. Studies have shown ( Pope Et al. 2010) that the vocal "hiss" of the Burrowing Owl when in its burrow is a mimic of a rattlesnakes "rattle". This too is a form of Batesian mimicry. Some have argued (Harcombe Et. al. 2001) that when the model is absent that the protection gained by such mimicry breaks down.
References:
Coss, RG, Owings, DH, Rowe, MP 1986, 'Rattlesnake Rattles and Burrowing Owl Hisses: A case of Acoustic Batesian Mimicry', Ethology, vol. 72, no. 1, pp. 53-71
Harcombe, WR, Pfennig, DW, Pfennig KS 2001, 'Frequency-dependant Batesian mimicry', Nature, vol. 410, pp. 323
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/55845/HW-Bates
Nice blog introducing Batesian mimicry. Can you get aggressive forms of Batesian mimicry (i.e. where a predator mimics another organism to appear less dangerous than it is, and hence to allow it to get closer to its prey)?
ReplyDeleteHi Tasmin,
DeleteA very good Question. Generally speaking Batesian mimicry is employed by prey to avoid predators and aggressive mimicry is used by predators to deceive prey. They are classified as two distinct categories. However some conjecture has arisen about the divide for example the case of Fangblennies. These small fish disguise themselves as cleaner fish, get close to a host but rather than feed on parasites actually feed on the host themselves. I will be exploring aggressive mimicry later so hopefully it will help clear things up for you!