ArticleNature communications2024
Predator selection on phenotypic variability of cryptic and aposematic moths.
Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Repeated evolution of convergent iridescence in closely related species ofEvolution letters · 2026Article
- Article
- Moth-Wing-Inspired Multifunctional Metamaterials.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- OzButterflies - a high quality open database of multispectral images and spectra of tropical to temperate Australian butterflies.Database : the journal of biological databases and curation · 2026Article
- Article
- Diel activity correlates with colour pattern morphology of heterobranch sea slugs.The Journal of animal ecology · 2025Article
- The Dangers of Growing Old: Adult Moths Face Higher Predation Pressures than Caterpillars inInsects · 2025Article
- Natural and sexual selection and functional roles influence colouration but not the amount of variation in butterfly wing colour patterns.BMC ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Natural selection generally favours phenotypic variability in camouflaged organisms, whereas aposematic organisms are expected to evolve a more uniform warning coloration. However, no comprehensive analysis of the phenotypic consequences of predator selection in aposematic and cryptic species exists. Using state-of-the-art image analysis, we examine 2800 wing images of 82 moth species accessed via three online museum databases. We test whether anti-predator strategy (i.e., camouflage or aposematism) explains intraspecific variation in wing colour and pattern across northern hemisphere moths. In addition, we test two mutually non-exclusive, ecological hypotheses to explain variation in colour pattern: diel-activity or dietary-niche. In this work, taking into account phylogenetic relationships, moth phenotypic variability is best explained by anti-predator strategy with camouflaged moths being more variable in wing patterning than aposematic species.
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Registered trials
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