Persistence of multiple patterns and intraspecific polymorphism in multi-species Müllerian communities of net-winged beetles

摘要

BackgroundIn contrast to traditional models of purifying selection and a single aposematic signal in Müllerian complexes, some communities of unprofitable prey contain members with multiple aposematic patterns. Processes responsible for diversity in aposematic signaling are poorly understood and large multi-species communities are seldom considered.