The Effect of Aposematic Coloration on the Food Preference of ...

Abstract<strong>Aposematic</strong> coloration, commonly observed in noxious organisms, serves as a warning topredators to avoid attacking specific prey.This coloration is conspicuous in nature, with one <strong>of</strong>the most common examples being a red and black pattern.<strong>The</strong> plant Abrus precatorius exhibitsthis warning signal in its seeds, which resemble lady beetles and contain the concentrated toxinabrin.Aphelocoma coerulescens, an endemic and federally threatened bird in the state <strong>of</strong>Florida, shares a similar distribution with Abrus precatorius, making interaction between the twospecies possible.Using an edible model <strong>of</strong> the Abrus seed, this potential interaction was testedin Martin and Palm Beach County populations <strong>of</strong> Aphelocoma coerulescens by presenting a redand white seed to individual scrub jays to determine whether they showed a preference for oravoidance <strong>of</strong> the red model seed.Results showed a significant tendency by the birds to preferwhite over red, indicating that the color, independent <strong>of</strong> other warning signals, functionsaposematically to discourage predation <strong>of</strong> Abrus precatorius seeds.