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Author Topic:   Mimicry: Please help me understand how
Lampropeltis
Junior Member (Idle past 6123 days)
Posts: 2
From: Alabama, USA
Joined: 07-13-2007


Message 1 of 4 (410371)
07-14-2007 3:04 PM


Mimicry, as a form of camouflage, is quite common among various species of animals. Take, for instance, the numerous species of spiders, beetles, and butterfly/moth caterpillars etc., that mimic bird droppings as an avoidance strategy to predation. Any species that employs this strategy must have had some ancestral form that did not resemble bird droppings in any way. Given that starting point, how did bird dropping mimicry evolve?, considering that a random mutation that led to individuals appearing EVER SO SLIGHTLY like bird droppings would not have been significant enough (in my mind) to result in differential survivability leading to differential reproductive success. How can appearing EVER SO SLIGHTLY like bird droppings be advantageous? And then to assume that this happens over and over again to result in a form that is virtually indistinguishable from a bird dropping, seems to be a bit of a stretch. Your thoughts?
Thanks

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Adminnemooseus, posted 07-17-2007 11:19 PM Lampropeltis has not replied
 Message 3 by Adminnemooseus, posted 07-18-2007 11:25 PM Lampropeltis has not replied

Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 2 of 4 (410919)
07-17-2007 11:19 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Lampropeltis
07-14-2007 3:04 PM


There is an existing topic on mimicry
Chiroptera gave a plug to this topic at the Considerations of topic promotions from the Proposed New Topics forum.
There is an existing topic on this, Mimicry and neodarwinism. It is at message 187 and was active up to a couple of months ago.
I am not rejecting this new "Proposed New Topic" (PNT), but all may wish to consider the above cited. If that topic doesn't do the job, then this one can be promoted.
Lampropeltis can comment in this topic. Others can comment in the "Considerations..." topic.
On hold for now.
Adminnemooseus
Edited by Adminnemooseus, : Fix typo in subtitle.

New Members should start HERE to get an understanding of what makes great posts.
Comments on moderation procedures (or wish to respond to admin messages)? - Go to:
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Admin writes:
It really helps moderators figure out if a topic is disintegrating because of general misbehavior versus someone in particular if the originally non-misbehaving members kept it that way. When everyone is prickly and argumentative and off-topic and personal then it's just too difficult to tell. We have neither infinite time to untie the Gordian knot, nor the wisdom of Solomon.
There used to be a comedian who presented his ideas for a better world, and one of them was to arm everyone on the highway with little rubber dart guns. Every time you see a driver doing something stupid, you fire a little dart at his car. When a state trooper sees someone driving down the highway with a bunch of darts all over his car he pulls him over for being an idiot.
Please make it easy to tell you apart from the idiots. Source

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Lampropeltis, posted 07-14-2007 3:04 PM Lampropeltis has not replied

Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 3 of 4 (411105)
07-18-2007 11:25 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Lampropeltis
07-14-2007 3:04 PM


OK - About to promote topic
From the General Discussion Of Moderation Procedures 11.0 topic (it should have been in the Considerations of topic promotions from the "Proposed New Topics" forum topic).
Dr Adequate writes:
I know we have a thread on mimicry, but it has MartinV all over it.
Yea, I noticed that. Sounds like a good reason to close the older topic and promote this one.
Stand by.
Adminnemooseus
Edited by Adminnemooseus, : Fixing "signature" links.

New Members should start HERE to get an understanding of what makes great posts.
Comments on moderation procedures (or wish to respond to admin messages)? - Go to:
General discussion of moderation procedures
Thread Reopen Requests
Considerations of topic promotions from the "Proposed New Topics" forum
Other useful links:
Forum Guidelines, [thread=-19,-112], [thread=-17,-45], [thread=-19,-337], [thread=-14,-1073]
Admin writes:
It really helps moderators figure out if a topic is disintegrating because of general misbehavior versus someone in particular if the originally non-misbehaving members kept it that way. When everyone is prickly and argumentative and off-topic and personal then it's just too difficult to tell. We have neither infinite time to untie the Gordian knot, nor the wisdom of Solomon.
There used to be a comedian who presented his ideas for a better world, and one of them was to arm everyone on the highway with little rubber dart guns. Every time you see a driver doing something stupid, you fire a little dart at his car. When a state trooper sees someone driving down the highway with a bunch of darts all over his car he pulls him over for being an idiot.
Please make it easy to tell you apart from the idiots. Source

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Lampropeltis, posted 07-14-2007 3:04 PM Lampropeltis has not replied

Adminnemooseus
Administrator
Posts: 3974
Joined: 09-26-2002


Message 4 of 4 (411112)
07-18-2007 11:36 PM


Thread copied to the Mimicry: Please help me understand how thread in the Biological Evolution forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

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