學習的代價與擬態訊號的演化
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| photo from what-when-how |
摘要
Predators must use the appearance of their prey to decide whether it is likely to be defended. Most theory assumes that predators have completed learning about prey appearance, yet we do not understand how predators learn which aspects of appearance to use for classifying prey. If sampling prey can be risky, predators might forgo opportunities to learn about the relationship between prey appearance and defense. Using Bayesian inference and dynamic programming, we modeled how the immediate risks and future rewards of learning about prey appearance influence how predators learn. In addition, we explored how variation in predator learning affects the evolution of mimicry, which occurs when two prey evolve to share a common signal to predators. We found that when learning about prey with distinct appearances was expensive, optimal predators tended to lump them into the same category or exhibit an unwillingness to sample at all (neophobia). This resulted in a reduction in selection for defensive mimicry. However, the same predator behavior favored the evolution of aggressive mimicry, because in that case, mimics benefited from being sampled. When prey were very rare and costs of sampling them were high, predators exhibited neophobia, refusing to attack. This behavior could forestall the evolution of mimicry and instead select for polymorphism.
捕食者的學習對於警戒性/擬態的演化實在很重要，因為這是最主要的天擇來源，但科學家實在對捕食者的學習模式太不瞭解，主要的癥結點在於不知道捕食者什麼時候吃，什麼時候不吃，要幾次才學的起來，學的多快才能推動這些斑紋的演化，有多少心理學的因子牽涉在裡面，其中一種研究方法就是透過數學模型的模擬，來推估哪些因子可能牽涉其中。
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