Data from: Plasticity and habitat choice match color to function in an ambush bug

Individuals aim to maximize their fitness by matching their own phenotype
to the optimum phenotype in their environment. Individuals can achieve
matching through several mechanism including habitat choice and adaptive
plasticity. A key trait of interest to biologists is color, with
background matching reciprocally camouflaging predators and prey. However,
the multiple mechanisms matching an individual’s color to their
background, and its consequences for function (e.g. species interactions),
are rarely explored simultaneously. Here we investigate color variation in
ambush bugs, Phymata americana, that feed on insects visiting white and
yellow flowers. We conducted surveys of wild populations to establish
phenotype-environment matching and its effects on prey capture, then
performed habitat choice and plasticity (color change) trials to test for
the mechanisms underlying putative patterns of habitat matching. Ambush
bugs matched their background—yellower ambush bugs were found on yellow
flowers and whiter ambush bugs on white flowers, and matching increased
prey capture. This pattern was seemingly driven by a combination of
plasticity and habitat choice. Ambush bugs were able to become more
yellow, especially when on yellow backgrounds; and individuals preferred
yellow flowers, especially when they were found on yellow habitats. Our
study highlights how organisms can optimize trait values through a
combination of plasticity and habitat choice with tangible effects on
individual performance. We suggest that multiple mechanisms interactively
shape phenotypes, optimizing function and fitness in the wild.