首页|Do bovids evolve hindquarter markings for anti-predation?

Do bovids evolve hindquarter markings for anti-predation?

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Conspicuous coloration in animals serves many functions such as anti-predation.Anti-predation strategies include motion dazzle and flash behavior.Motion dazzle markings can reduce the prob-ability of being preyed on because the predators misjudge their movement.In flash behavior,prey demonstrate conspicuous cue while fleeing;the predators follow them;however,the prey hide their markings and the predators assume that the prey has vanished.To investigate whether bovids use conspicuous hindquarter markings as an anti-predatory behavior,we undertook phylogenetically controlled analyses to explore under what physiological characteristics and envir-onmental factors bovids might have this color pattern.The results suggested that rump patches and tail markings were more prevalent in bovids living in larger-sized groups,which supports the hypothesis of intraspecific communication.Moreover,we observed the occurrence of conspicuous white hindquarter markings in bovids having smaller body size and living in larger groups,sug-gesting a motion dazzle function.However,the feature of facultative exposing color patterns(flash markings)was not associated with body size,which was inconsistent with predictions and implied that bovids may not adopt this as an anti-predator strategy.It was concluded that species in bovids with conspicuous white hindquarter markings adopt motion dazzle as an anti-predation strategy while fleeing and escaping from being prey on.

anti-predationbovidflash behaviorhindquarter markingsinterspecies communicationmotion dazzle

Cong YU、Lixin CHEN、Sihan NING、Sana ULLAH、Zhongqiu LI

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Laboratory of Animal Behavior and Conservation,School of Life Sciences,Nanjing University,Nanjing 210023,China

Department of Zoology,Division of Science and Technology,University of Education,Lahore 54000,Pakistan

Tibet Major Science and Technology Project

XZ201901-GA-06

2022

动物学报(英文版)
中国科学院动物研究所,中国动物学会

动物学报(英文版)

CSCDSCI
影响因子:0.198
ISSN:1674-5507
年,卷(期):2022.68(2)
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