Fashion in the animal kingdom can be as dazzling as it often appears, horrifyingly. There are only a limited number of color models that scream “look at me” amidst the greyish-green foliage and mud.
It is therefore not surprising that animals often use the same colors for very different purposes.
bright scarlet male northern cardinal (Cardinals Cardinals) as a signal for potential owners to get closer; in poisonous strawberry frogs (Oofaga pumilio), this red color is a stern warning to avoid, otherwise you will ingest a powerful and deadly potion Right.
Evolutionary biologist Zachary Imberts, now of Oklahoma State University, and his colleague John Wiens of the University of Arizona, have wondered why the same colors evolved to serve different purposes in different animals.
They conducted a study of 1,824 terrestrial vertebrate species (aquatic animals can be very different fish bowl), classified their colors as having come here or lost and found the common thread that connects each group.
The animals that came here, such as birds and lizards, are descended from active diurnal or diurnal ancestors. Lost animals, such as snakes and amphibians, are descended from nocturnal ancestors.
“The traits we see in species today may be the result of their evolutionary history,” says Imbert. “We were looking for evolutionary models, so we ran two separate analyzes, one that used the current day and night activity and the other that used the day and night activity of their ancestors.”
They found that there was no relationship between daytime and nighttime activity and the coloration of animals today. On the contrary, the link is purely hereditary. But they are the ones that seem consistent with all terrestrial vertebrates, whose history goes back some 350 million years of evolution.
“It doesn’t matter how a species produces colors”, Vince says. “The way a bird does red is different from the way a lizard does red, but this general pattern of day and night activity still works.”
According to the researchers’ analysis, most of the ancestors of the animals they studied looked simple and rather dull, developed their bright colors over time, and most lived in environments where their colors were more visible. The most plausible explanation is that the brighter colored animals were able to survive better and pass their genetic material down to generations that have continued this trend.
The colors analyzed included red, orange, yellow, purple, and blue, and the researchers found that for all colors except blue, the colors were split almost equally between sexual and gender cues. At the moment it is not known what the cause may be.
“It is interesting to see that for some colors like red, orange and yellow, they are used with a similar frequency as a way to avoid predators and as a way to attract friends,” he added. Embers said.
“On the other hand, blue was more often associated with mating than with predator avoidance.”
Diurnal animal coloring makes sense: the bright animal, in broad daylight, will be seen by other animals, including potential mates. It might also make them more important targets for predators, but the ability to find a mate and reproduce appears to be more important than not being eaten. Females of this species are often boring in comparison, and therefore are better able to hide from predators and survive to raise their offspring.
But nocturnal animals crawl and parasitize in the dark. A male nocturnal snake does not need a very bright color for a sexual cue if the females cannot see it.
“Warning colors also evolved in eyeless species”, Vince says. “It is controversial whether most snakes or amphibians can see color, so their bright colors are usually used to indicate predators rather than individuals of the same species.”
Instead, the researchers suggest that the coloring may have evolved as a way of telling diurnal predators who might stumble upon a sleeping animal to get away. But future research may reveal more details. The team hopes to delve into the evolution of bright colors to see if their functions have changed over time.
Meanwhile, research shows that delving into the evolutionary history of animal traits can reveal patterns that are no longer relevant today.
The team’s research was published in It has evolved.
