Dr. David Kikuchi

• In-person event
• 4440Q, Carleton Technology and Training Centre, Carleton University
• 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6

• Contact
• Tom Sherratt, tom.sherratt@carleton.ca

Mechanisms of adaptation in coral snake mimicry

Dr. David Kikuchi, University of North Carolina

Friday, February 7^th – 3:30PM – CTTC 4440Q

Faculty Host: Tom Sherratt

Evolution • Batesian Mimicry • Coral Snakes

In Batesian mimicry, an undefended prey species (the mimic) evolves to resemble a defended one (the model) because of the selective advantage of this resemblance in deterring predation. Although Batesian mimicry is one of the oldest known examples of evolution by natural selection, it continues to provide insight into topics of current interest, including coevolution between signalers and receivers, the importance of shared evolutionary history in convergent evolution, and phenotypic change over rough adaptive landscapes. I have explored these questions by examining venomous coral snakes and their nonvenomous mimics.