Virtual Ecology: Experimental Tests of Evolution in Predator-Prey Systems

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

Virtual Ecology: Experimental Tests of Evolution in Predator-Prey Systems Alan B. Bond Some of the most profound issues in biological evolution concern the selective effects of interactions between organisms, particularly the influence of predators on the color patterning of their prey. The proposed research will study the effects of predation using a 'virtual ecology', in which predators hunt moth-like virtual prey whose appearance is controlled by a computer-based genetic algorithm. When the prey are detected on the computer screen, they are considered to have been eaten. Only surviving prey can breed to produce the next generation, so the actions of the predator, over time, influence the appearance of the virtual prey dynamically, causing it to evolve into new forms. This procedure will be used to test hypotheses that relate prey appearance to patterns of predation. For example, most palatable prey are also cryptically colored, difficult to detect, and highly variable in appearance. In contrast, prey that are poisonous or distasteful tend to be conspicuously colored and to vary little in appearance. By establishing populations of virtual moths that vary in coloration and palatability, several hypotheses that have been proposed to account for differences in appearance and variability of the prey will be rigorously tested. The proposed research will advance our understanding of the complex dynamics involved in predator-prey interactions over evolutionary time. It will also establish the validity of virtual ecology for studying complex evolutionary dynamics, potentially adding powerful new techniques to the scientific study of ecological relationships among organisms. -------------------------------------------------------- Michael D. Greenfield Program Director, Animal Behavior Div. Integrative Biology & Neuroscience National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Blvd., Rm 685 Arlington, VA 22230 U.S.A. 703-292-8421