Data from: Keeping the band together: evidence for false boundary disruptive coloration in a butterfly

There is a recent surge of evidence supporting disruptive coloration, in which patterns break up the animal's outline through false edges or boundaries, increasing survival in animals by reducing predator detection and/or preventing recognition. Though research has demonstrated that false edges are successful for reducing predation of prey, research into the role of internal false boundaries (i.e., stripes and bands) in reducing predation remains warranted. Many animals, have stripes and bands that may function disruptively. Here we test the possible disruptive function of wing band patterning in a butterfly, Anartia fatima, using artificial paper and plasticine models in Panama. We manipulated the band so that one model type had the band shifted to the wing margin (non-disruptive treatment) and another model had a discontinuous band located on the wing margin (discontinuous edge treatment). We kept the natural wing pattern to represent the false boundary treatment. Across all treatment groups, we standardized the area of color and used avian visual models to confirm a match between manipulated and natural wing colors. False boundary models had higher survival than either the discontinuous edge model or the non-disruptive model. There was no survival difference between the discontinuous edge model and the non-disruptive model. Our results demonstrate the importance of wing bands in reducing predation on butterflies and show that markings set in from the wing margin can reduce predation more effectively than marginal bands and discontinuous marginal patterns. This study demonstrates an adaptive benefit of having stripes and bands.近年来，越来越多的证据支持破坏性着色（disruptive coloration）这一伪装策略：即通过虚假边缘或虚假边界打破动物的轮廓，通过降低捕食者的探测概率与/或阻碍其识别猎物，从而提升动物的生存几率。尽管已有研究证实虚假边缘可有效降低猎物的被捕食风险，但针对内部虚假边界（即条纹与条带）在减少捕食中的作用的相关研究仍有待开展。诸多动物体表带有条纹与条带，其功能可能属于破坏性伪装。本研究于巴拿马境内利用纸质与橡皮泥人工模型，检验了安纳蛱蝶（Anartia fatima）翅部条带图案的潜在破坏性伪装功能。我们对条带进行了操控：一组模型的条带被移至翅缘（非破坏性处理组），另一组模型的条带为位于翅缘的不连续条带（不连续边缘处理组）；同时保留自然翅部图案作为虚假边界处理组。在所有处理组中，我们均标准化了色块面积，并利用鸟类视觉模型验证了人工处理后的翅部颜色与自然翅色的匹配度。虚假边界处理组模型的存活率显著高于不连续边缘处理组与非破坏性处理组模型；而不连续边缘处理组与非破坏性处理组模型的存活率无显著差异。本研究结果证实了翅部条带在减少蝴蝶被捕食中的重要性，并表明位于翅缘内侧的斑纹相较于翅缘条带与不连续翅缘图案，能更有效地降低被捕食概率。本研究阐明了条纹与条带所具备的适应性优势。