Frequency-dependent selection at high prey density, with emphasis on the effect of palatability
Frequency-dependent selection at high prey density, with emphasis on the effect of palatability
The experiments in much of the thesis attempted to determine (1) whether at high density of distasteful artificial prey, wild birds and exotic captive birds do exert anti-apostatic selection and (2) whether there is an effect of palatability on the strength and direction of frequency-dependent selection. In another part of the thesis, an attempt was made to investigate whether there was a detectable effect of anti-apostatic selection on the dense intertidal polymorphic snail Umbonium vestiarium.
Experiments with wild birds and captive exotic birds feeding on high density of dimorphic pastry baits revealed that there is a tendency for selection on distasteful prey to be anti-apostatic whether the colours of the baits were red and yellow (common colours for aposematic prey) or green and brown (common colour for cryptic edible prey), and whether the design was fixed frequency (one level of frequency per site) or fixed palatability (one level of palatability per site). There was no significant effect of palatability.
In a separate set of experiments, data were obtained for known species of free ranging wild birds and individuals. There was evidence for frequency-dependent selection but the effect of palatability was inconsistent.
Two experiments were carried out to test whether wild birds would feed on anti-apostatic manner on blowfly maggots Calliphora vomitoria and whether selection is affected by palatability. The results demonstrated that selection was anti-apostatic in both experiments (fixed frequency and fixed palatability). Selection was affected by palatability.
A field experiment on the intertidal polymorphic snail Umbonium vestiarium in four beaches in Oman showed that although both the density and diversity of the snail varied among the four beaches, there was no significant interaction between density and diversity.
University of Southampton
Al-Rasbi, Khaled J
ccefa013-b381-42b3-92bd-e8f639da2930
2003
Al-Rasbi, Khaled J
ccefa013-b381-42b3-92bd-e8f639da2930
Al-Rasbi, Khaled J
(2003)
Frequency-dependent selection at high prey density, with emphasis on the effect of palatability.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The experiments in much of the thesis attempted to determine (1) whether at high density of distasteful artificial prey, wild birds and exotic captive birds do exert anti-apostatic selection and (2) whether there is an effect of palatability on the strength and direction of frequency-dependent selection. In another part of the thesis, an attempt was made to investigate whether there was a detectable effect of anti-apostatic selection on the dense intertidal polymorphic snail Umbonium vestiarium.
Experiments with wild birds and captive exotic birds feeding on high density of dimorphic pastry baits revealed that there is a tendency for selection on distasteful prey to be anti-apostatic whether the colours of the baits were red and yellow (common colours for aposematic prey) or green and brown (common colour for cryptic edible prey), and whether the design was fixed frequency (one level of frequency per site) or fixed palatability (one level of palatability per site). There was no significant effect of palatability.
In a separate set of experiments, data were obtained for known species of free ranging wild birds and individuals. There was evidence for frequency-dependent selection but the effect of palatability was inconsistent.
Two experiments were carried out to test whether wild birds would feed on anti-apostatic manner on blowfly maggots Calliphora vomitoria and whether selection is affected by palatability. The results demonstrated that selection was anti-apostatic in both experiments (fixed frequency and fixed palatability). Selection was affected by palatability.
A field experiment on the intertidal polymorphic snail Umbonium vestiarium in four beaches in Oman showed that although both the density and diversity of the snail varied among the four beaches, there was no significant interaction between density and diversity.
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Published date: 2003
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Local EPrints ID: 465103
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/465103
PURE UUID: aceea08e-2b73-41ee-8d73-26a2e87548c5
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Date deposited: 05 Jul 2022 00:23
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 19:57
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Author:
Khaled J Al-Rasbi
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