Genetic Basis of Life In Batesian mimicry, a palatable species gains protection

Question

Genetic Basis of Life In Batesian mimicry, a palatable species gains protection by mimicking an unpalatable one. Imagine that several individuals of a palatable, brightly colored fly species are carried by the wind to three remote islands. The first island has no predators of that species; the second has predators but no similarly colored, unpalatable species; and the third has both predators and a similarly colored, unpalatable species. In a short essay (100 - 150 words), predict what might happen to the coloration of the palatable species on each of the islands through evolutionary time if coloration is a genetically controlled trait. Explain your predictions.

Explanation / Answer

In Batesian mimicry, a harmless insect species or palatable one resembles an unpalatable insect species or a harmful one. Protection of a harmless species by its resemblance with the harmful and inedible species is termed as mimicry here. Harmful species usually can avoid predators and the species that has poor defense is easily susceptible to predators. Palatability indicates the quality of food that makes it to be acceptable as a food that is agreed by the eater’s taste.

Due to the selective action of the signal receiver like birds or predators, the mimics or palatable species will evolve into unpalatable ones. The first island had palatable species after their migration. As there are no predators observed over there, all or most of the palatable species might have evolved to resemble the unpalatable ones. The coloration of the palatable species might have made to express fast in order to resemble the unpalatable species. The mimics in the first island have successfully resembled the harmful species to protect themselves from the predators. Hence, no predators were seen.

In the second island, the evolution of the genes for coloration did not occur and these genes did not get expressed. Eventually, the palatable species did not resemble the unpalatable ones and the predators have found the harmless species for its food. As the coloration genes were not expressed and as no similar colored unpalatable insects were evolved in the island, only palatable insects existed there. Therefore, predators that fed on the palatable species were found.

In the third island, some of the palatable insects were able to express the coloration similar to that of the unpalatable insects and protect themselves from the predators. As some of the palatable ones could not express the genes and failed in resembling the color of the unpalatable insects, they were identified by the predators. The number of unpalatable species also has evolved simultaneously in this island and the first experience of the predator in eating the unpalatable species might have made the predators to keep away from the population. As the time passed, the unpalatable species might have successfully evolved and the predators might have developed a method of identifying the palatable ones and eat them. So, this island has predators, unpalatable and palatable species.

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