Mimicry

Mimicry
Sheila Heck

There are few things that are more commonly related to evolution than mimicry (or mimetism). By definition, mimicry is when an organism (aka the mimic) has evolved to look like another organism (aka the model) in order to survive. In most cases the model is of a different species than the mimic but that is not always the case contrary to common belief. Sometimes the mimic can be drawn back to a specific model (like the milk snake to the coral snake). But other times its impossible to say whose eyes a pair of eye spots is meant to be or camouflage that has not specific model. There are several different types of mimicry that go under 4 basic types: defensive, aggressive, reproductive, and auto mimicry.

Defensive mimicry is when an organism uses mimicry to avoid potential danger or inconvenience. Defensive mimicry has 3 basic branches: Batesian, Müllerian, and Browerian mimicry. Batesian mimicry is where it only looks like potential danger to a predator (like a non-venomous milk snake. It may look like a coral snake, but that’s it.). It does not share the unsavory characteristics as the model but looks similar enough to fool its predators. Müllerian mimicry is where two or more species share the same defense mechanism and mimic each other to confuse predators. Both the mimic and the model benefit from the mimicry. Browerian mimicry is a form of auto mimicry that takes place within a species. The best way to explain this form is with monarch butterflies which eat milkweed of varying toxicities. They store the toxins inside of them so each butterfly (or larvae) has different toxin contents.

Aggressive mimicry is where a predator mimics a harmless species to avoid notice from their prey. This is could be done by mimicking the prey itself or a species that is neutral or beneficial to the prey. Luring (like the kind done by the Angler fish) is a prime example of Aggressive mimicry.


Reproductive mimicry is more common in plants where female plants mimic male plants of the same species to elude pollinators. Reproduction can cause shifts in color mimicry and was the reason two different species of butterflies formed (Heliconius melpomene and Heliconius cydn)
Auto mimicry happens inside of one species where one part of the body appears to be another part (e.g. a snake’s tail looking like a head or an owl with eyespots on the back of its head to fool predators into believing they are alert to their presence.)

For some species, mimicry is a great way to ensure survival.

Sources: Wikipedia.com
Semimoticon.com
Search.live.com/images

About Antonio

my name is Antonio Ortiz i am Senior at Ola the North, i was born in Mexico city,my mom died when she was in pregnancy of me at the point of 7 months, i got adopted when i was 2 years old, i also spend my time in Puerto Rico in a cool place name omacao; the most exiting thing that i had done is when my dad got retired from the mexican Army and starting being a veteran, after 20 years he got into business and become a main manager of one of the most productive areas of body shop in the mexican republic; now also will like to tell you about my life here in America it has change so much i had a big impact is the i had being working at the same job for 5 months and i am getting a good paid, not just that also that i am doing a good job in my classes and stuff, my gpa graduation will be enough to get me into my first year on jccc and start my majors that i always dream on, BUSSINES TEGN. and engineering in systmens.


EVOLUTION:

Behavior: Moves into shallow water to hunt at night. Cruises all water environments. Responsible for many attacks on Surfers in Hawaii. Has a highly eclectic diet. Stomach contents have been shown to include all manner of inorganic objects. A voracious predator and scavenger. Known to congregate to feed on Albatrosses in Hawaii.

Reproduction: The only ovoviviparous member of the Carcharhinidae family. There is no nourishment of embryos via a placental structure in the mothers uterus. Litter size 10 - 82. Gestation period 12 to 13 months.

Observations: In a baited situation medium sized tiger sharks were observed to hang back from the bait when comparibly sized Great hammerhead sharks were present and feeding. Read the trip report Hammers and Tigers in the Bahamas.

HOW THE TIGER SHARK IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF MIMICRY: well the main reason why i choose that this animal will be a good representation of it is because, the sharrk arent the friendly in cases.. well in his case is over becuase i took all my resources to conclude that Where as small Tiger sharks will probably move away when encountering a diver, larger individuals are more likely to make close passes. The presence of speared fish or chum in the water could potentially initiate an attack and the extremely large size and varied diet of this shark warrants extreme caution even when no stimulus is present. It is wise to note that proportionately more Tiger shark attacks are fatal than White shark attacks. This appears to represent the misidentification of swimmers for the White sharks natural prey and the Tiger sharks real desire to devour the subject.
Comments about the images:are the database of sharks, skates, rays, and chimaera's from around the world. It began as a simple web based field guide to help divers find the best places to encounter different species of sharks and rays but it has slowly evolved into a much larger project containing information on all aspects of shark diving and photography.

These are the sights that i used to gather my information: http://www.elasmodiver.com/Tiger%20shark.htm
WWW.google.com pictures/images
http://www.new-brunswick.net/new-brunswick/sharks/species/tiger.html

About Dalton

My name is Dalton Swearingian, I am a Junior At Olathe North, In Student Naturalist. I like to fish, and play on the computer.

About Greg

My name is Greg and i am a Junior at Olathe North High school. I enjoy paintballing, fishing, white water rafting, and other various outdoor activities. I dislike school, restrictions, and other various things that reject fun.

About Sheila

Sheila Heck -I'm a senior in Student Nat. . .I do swimming and martial arts. I like being outside and around other musical people. . .Yay Student nat.

About Josh

I am in student nat. I wrestle, run XC, and Track. I love being in the outdoors. I like to fish and hunt. Stu. Nats. the best.

Camouflage

Camouflage is a method of hiding by making an animal look like its natural surroundings. In nature animals need every advantage they can get to survive. It is use to hide from predators and pray. Some animals blend in with their environment some change their camouflage to adapt to their surroundings. Some animals do not hide at all, they trick predictors by looking like something dangerous or uninteresting.
Many animals and even some plants use camouflage as a way to protect themselves. Animals hide their babies in tall grassy areas or in areas that have the same background cover as the animal. Even farm animals camouflage themselves to hide from predators. A cow will often hide her baby in some tall grass or bushes while she grazes, to protect it from a hungry coyote.

These are the sights that i used to gather my information: http://ellerbruch.nmu.edu/classes/cs255w03/cs255students/nsovey/P6/P6.html, http://www.longhorn-cattle.com/camo.html,