Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

Iliana Medina; Alice Exnerová; Klára Daňková; Olivier Penacchio; Tom N. Sherratt; Tomáš Albrecht; Sarika Baidya; Renan Janke Bosque; Héloïse Brown; Emily Burdfield-Steel; Kristal E. Cain; Rodrigo Roucourt Cezário; Ylenia Chiari; Carolina Esquivel; Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira; Amanda M. Franklin; Aloise Garvey; Samuel Guchu; Brandon T. Hastings; Kateřina Hotová-Svádová; Yerin Hwang; Changku Kang; John Kasaya; Jennifer Kelley; Yongsu Kim; Krushnamegh Kunte; Felipe Daetto-Liberato; Karl Loeffler-Henry; Vinicius Marques Lopez; Claire MacKay-Dietrich; Johanna Mappes; María Cecilia De Mársico; Viraj Nawge; Peter Njoroge; Ossi Nokelainen; Arka Pal; Archan Paul; Robert Posont; Jan Raška; Juan Carlos Reboreda; Juan Manuel Rojas Ripari; Hannah M. Rowland; Maria de las Nieves Sabio; Camilo Salazar; Fabian C. Salgado-Roa; Steve A. Stephens-Cárdenas; Anita Szabó; Juan Pablo Mongui Torres; Jolyon Troscianko; Marie Truhlářová; Kate D. L. Umbers; Molly Venton; Makenzie Vitasovich; Lu Yi Wang; Sarah Sophie Weil; William L. Allen

doi:10.1126/science.adr7368

Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

Iliana Medina, Alice Exnerová, Klára Daňková, Olivier Penacchio, Tom N. Sherratt, Tomáš Albrecht, Sarika Baidya, Renan Janke Bosque, Héloïse Brown, Emily Burdfield-Steel, Kristal E. Cain, Rodrigo Roucourt Cezário, Ylenia Chiari, Carolina Esquivel, Rhainer Guillermo Ferreira, Amanda M. Franklin, Aloise Garvey, Samuel Guchu, Brandon T. Hastings, Kateřina Hotová-SvádováYerin Hwang, Changku Kang, John Kasaya, Jennifer Kelley, Yongsu Kim, Krushnamegh Kunte, Felipe Daetto-Liberato, Karl Loeffler-Henry, Vinicius Marques Lopez, Claire MacKay-Dietrich, Johanna Mappes, María Cecilia De Mársico, Viraj Nawge, Peter Njoroge, Ossi Nokelainen, Arka Pal, Archan Paul, Robert Posont, Jan Raška, Juan Carlos Reboreda, Juan Manuel Rojas Ripari, Hannah M. Rowland, Maria de las Nieves Sabio, Camilo Salazar, Fabian C. Salgado-Roa, Steve A. Stephens-Cárdenas, Anita Szabó, Juan Pablo Mongui Torres, Jolyon Troscianko, Marie Truhlářová, Kate D. L. Umbers, Molly Venton, Makenzie Vitasovich, Lu Yi Wang, Sarah Sophie Weil, William L. Allen

School of Science

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understanding of how ecological context favors one strategy over the other. We conducted a globally replicated predation experiment at 21 sites on six continents to test how predator community, prey community, and visual environment influenced the predation risk of 15,018 artificial paper “moth” prey with cryptic or warning coloration. results indicated that aposematic strategies fare better in environments with low predation intensity, whereas camouflage strategies are advantaged when other camouflaged prey species are rare and when light levels are low. this study demonstrates how multiple mechanisms shape antipredator strategies, helping to explain the evolution and global distribution of camouflaged and aposematic animals.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1336-1341
Number of pages	6
Journal	Science
Volume	389
Issue number	6767
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr7368
Publication status	Published - Sept 2025

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Medina, I., Exnerová, A., Daňková, K., Penacchio, O., Sherratt, T. N., Albrecht, T., Baidya, S., Bosque, R. J., Brown, H., Burdfield-Steel, E., Cain, K. E., Cezário, R. R., Chiari, Y., Esquivel, C., Ferreira, R. G., Franklin, A. M., Garvey, A., Guchu, S., Hastings, B. T., ... Allen, W. L. (2025). Global selection on insect antipredator coloration. Science, 389(6767), 1336-1341. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr7368

@article{c873f7634a9e490ebdde40eeab2967f6,

title = "Global selection on insect antipredator coloration",

abstract = "Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understanding of how ecological context favors one strategy over the other. We conducted a globally replicated predation experiment at 21 sites on six continents to test how predator community, prey community, and visual environment influenced the predation risk of 15,018 artificial paper “moth” prey with cryptic or warning coloration. results indicated that aposematic strategies fare better in environments with low predation intensity, whereas camouflage strategies are advantaged when other camouflaged prey species are rare and when light levels are low. this study demonstrates how multiple mechanisms shape antipredator strategies, helping to explain the evolution and global distribution of camouflaged and aposematic animals.",

author = "Iliana Medina and Alice Exnerov{\'a} and Kl{\'a}ra Da{\v n}kov{\'a} and Olivier Penacchio and Sherratt, {Tom N.} and Tom{\'a}{\v s} Albrecht and Sarika Baidya and Bosque, {Renan Janke} and H{\'e}lo{\"i}se Brown and Emily Burdfield-Steel and Cain, {Kristal E.} and Cez{\'a}rio, {Rodrigo Roucourt} and Ylenia Chiari and Carolina Esquivel and Ferreira, {Rhainer Guillermo} and Franklin, {Amanda M.} and Aloise Garvey and Samuel Guchu and Hastings, {Brandon T.} and Kate{\v r}ina Hotov{\'a}-Sv{\'a}dov{\'a} and Yerin Hwang and Changku Kang and John Kasaya and Jennifer Kelley and Yongsu Kim and Krushnamegh Kunte and Felipe Daetto-Liberato and Karl Loeffler-Henry and Lopez, {Vinicius Marques} and Claire MacKay-Dietrich and Johanna Mappes and {De M{\'a}rsico}, {Mar{\'i}a Cecilia} and Viraj Nawge and Peter Njoroge and Ossi Nokelainen and Arka Pal and Archan Paul and Robert Posont and Jan Ra{\v s}ka and Reboreda, {Juan Carlos} and Ripari, {Juan Manuel Rojas} and Rowland, {Hannah M.} and {de las Nieves Sabio}, Maria and Camilo Salazar and Salgado-Roa, {Fabian C.} and Stephens-C{\'a}rdenas, {Steve A.} and Anita Szab{\'o} and Torres, {Juan Pablo Mongui} and Jolyon Troscianko and Marie Truhl{\'a}{\v r}ov{\'a} and Umbers, {Kate D. L.} and Molly Venton and Makenzie Vitasovich and Wang, {Lu Yi} and Weil, {Sarah Sophie} and Allen, {William L.}",

year = "2025",

month = sep,

doi = "10.1126/science.adr7368",

language = "English",

volume = "389",

pages = "1336--1341",

journal = "Science",

issn = "0036-8075",

number = "6767",

}

Medina, I, Exnerová, A, Daňková, K, Penacchio, O, Sherratt, TN, Albrecht, T, Baidya, S, Bosque, RJ, Brown, H, Burdfield-Steel, E, Cain, KE, Cezário, RR, Chiari, Y, Esquivel, C, Ferreira, RG, Franklin, AM, Garvey, A, Guchu, S, Hastings, BT, Hotová-Svádová, K, Hwang, Y, Kang, C, Kasaya, J, Kelley, J, Kim, Y, Kunte, K, Daetto-Liberato, F, Loeffler-Henry, K, Lopez, VM, MacKay-Dietrich, C, Mappes, J, De Mársico, MC, Nawge, V, Njoroge, P, Nokelainen, O, Pal, A, Paul, A, Posont, R, Raška, J, Reboreda, JC, Ripari, JMR, Rowland, HM, de las Nieves Sabio, M, Salazar, C, Salgado-Roa, FC, Stephens-Cárdenas, SA, Szabó, A, Torres, JPM, Troscianko, J, Truhlářová, M, Umbers, KDL, Venton, M, Vitasovich, M, Wang, LY, Weil, SS & Allen, WL 2025, 'Global selection on insect antipredator coloration', Science, vol. 389, no. 6767, pp. 1336-1341. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr7368

TY - JOUR

T1 - Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

AU - Medina, Iliana

AU - Exnerová, Alice

AU - Daňková, Klára

AU - Penacchio, Olivier

AU - Sherratt, Tom N.

AU - Albrecht, Tomáš

AU - Baidya, Sarika

AU - Bosque, Renan Janke

AU - Brown, Héloïse

AU - Burdfield-Steel, Emily

AU - Cain, Kristal E.

AU - Cezário, Rodrigo Roucourt

AU - Chiari, Ylenia

AU - Esquivel, Carolina

AU - Ferreira, Rhainer Guillermo

AU - Franklin, Amanda M.

AU - Garvey, Aloise

AU - Guchu, Samuel

AU - Hastings, Brandon T.

AU - Hotová-Svádová, Kateřina

AU - Hwang, Yerin

AU - Kang, Changku

AU - Kasaya, John

AU - Kelley, Jennifer

AU - Kim, Yongsu

AU - Kunte, Krushnamegh

AU - Daetto-Liberato, Felipe

AU - Loeffler-Henry, Karl

AU - Lopez, Vinicius Marques

AU - MacKay-Dietrich, Claire

AU - Mappes, Johanna

AU - De Mársico, María Cecilia

AU - Nawge, Viraj

AU - Njoroge, Peter

AU - Nokelainen, Ossi

AU - Pal, Arka

AU - Paul, Archan

AU - Posont, Robert

AU - Raška, Jan

AU - Reboreda, Juan Carlos

AU - Ripari, Juan Manuel Rojas

AU - Rowland, Hannah M.

AU - de las Nieves Sabio, Maria

AU - Salazar, Camilo

AU - Salgado-Roa, Fabian C.

AU - Stephens-Cárdenas, Steve A.

AU - Szabó, Anita

AU - Torres, Juan Pablo Mongui

AU - Troscianko, Jolyon

AU - Truhlářová, Marie

AU - Umbers, Kate D. L.

AU - Venton, Molly

AU - Vitasovich, Makenzie

AU - Wang, Lu Yi

AU - Weil, Sarah Sophie

AU - Allen, William L.

PY - 2025/9

Y1 - 2025/9

N2 - Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understanding of how ecological context favors one strategy over the other. We conducted a globally replicated predation experiment at 21 sites on six continents to test how predator community, prey community, and visual environment influenced the predation risk of 15,018 artificial paper “moth” prey with cryptic or warning coloration. results indicated that aposematic strategies fare better in environments with low predation intensity, whereas camouflage strategies are advantaged when other camouflaged prey species are rare and when light levels are low. this study demonstrates how multiple mechanisms shape antipredator strategies, helping to explain the evolution and global distribution of camouflaged and aposematic animals.

AB - Natural selection has repeatedly led to the evolution of two alternative antipredator color strategies—camouflage to avoid detection and aposematism to advertise unprofitability—but we lack understanding of how ecological context favors one strategy over the other. We conducted a globally replicated predation experiment at 21 sites on six continents to test how predator community, prey community, and visual environment influenced the predation risk of 15,018 artificial paper “moth” prey with cryptic or warning coloration. results indicated that aposematic strategies fare better in environments with low predation intensity, whereas camouflage strategies are advantaged when other camouflaged prey species are rare and when light levels are low. this study demonstrates how multiple mechanisms shape antipredator strategies, helping to explain the evolution and global distribution of camouflaged and aposematic animals.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=105016872439&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://go.openathens.net/redirector/westernsydney.edu.au?url=https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adr7368

U2 - 10.1126/science.adr7368

DO - 10.1126/science.adr7368

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:105016872439

SN - 0036-8075

VL - 389

SP - 1336

EP - 1341

JO - Science

JF - Science

IS - 6767

ER -

Global selection on insect antipredator coloration

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