Persistence of visual polymorphism, despite a low rate of predation, in Philaenus spumarius (L.) (Homoptera, Aphrophoridae)

Persistence of visual polymorphism, despite a low rate of predation, in Philaenus spumarius (L.) (Homoptera, Aphrophoridae)

In the Homopteran genus Philaenus the persistent maintenance of visual polymorphism is almost certainly due to persistent visual selection. The relevant literature from western and northern Europe includes reports on 10 species of bird, which take Philaenus but none of them frequently. This indicate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales zoologici fennici Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 185 - 188
Main Authors: Halkka, Olli, Kohila, Tarja, Komila, T.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: SOCIETAS BIOLOGICA FENNICA VANAMO 01-01-1976
Subjects:
Alleles
Birds
Evolution
Evolutionary genetics
Meadows
Nymphs
Pigmentation
Predation
Predators
Starlings
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the Homopteran genus Philaenus the persistent maintenance of visual polymorphism is almost certainly due to persistent visual selection. The relevant literature from western and northern Europe includes reports on 10 species of bird, which take Philaenus but none of them frequently. This indicates an extremely low strength of visual selection. The colour morphs differ in their ecological requirements. Each morph lives in a different subniche, and the frequency of a given morph is dictated by the breadth of the niche that it occupies. The colour genes appear to be linked with the genes governing the subniche-specific polymorphism. As a result of this linkage, colour variability will persist in populations in which the rate of predation is too low to maintain all the morphs.
ISSN:0003-455X
1797-2450