Q51.2-1CC - Campbell Biology

Question

How might associative learning explain why different species of distasteful or stinging insects have similar colors?

Step-by-Step Solution

Answer

Color pattern convergence results from natural selection because a predator learning to associate a pattern with an unpleasant taste or sting will avoid all others possessing that pattern, regardless of species. 

Step 1: Natural selection

Natural selection occurs when an animal or creature is more suited to survive in a given habitat than others in that environment, allowing it to thrive and reproduce. It permits animals to adapt to their surroundings. 

Step 2: Convergence

In convergence evolution, animals evolve structures or functions similar (analogous) to those of their evolutionary ancestors; even though their ancestors were highly diverse and unrelated.

Step 3: Associative learning in animal behavior

An animal's behavior may be described as associative learning when a new response is associated with a specific stimulus. Associative learning is the capacity to link one environmental element (such as a color) to another (such as a bad taste). 

Connecting experiences is a common part of learning. Blue jays, for example, eat beautiful monarch butterflies. The monarch butterflies contain chemicals from milkweed plants that cause the blue jay to vomit nearly instantaneously. 

Thus, blue jays avoid damaging monarch butterflies and other butterflies with similar looks as a result of these experiences.