Animal Prey Defenses

Vocabulary flashcards about animal defenses against predators based on lecture notes.

Cryptic coloration

A defense mechanism where animals blend into their environment.

Object resemblance

A type of camouflage where an animal mimics an inanimate object.

Alarm pheromones

Chemical signals used by animals to warn others of danger.

Warning coloration (Aposematism)

Bright colors used by toxic or chemically defended animals to warn predators.

Batesian mimicry

Mimicking a toxic species by an edible species.

Model (in mimicry)

The inedible species being mimicked in Batesian mimicry.

Mimic (in mimicry)

Edible species that resembles the model in Batesian mimicry.

Müllerian mimicry

When multiple unpalatable/toxic species share a similar color pattern to reinforce predator avoidance.

Caudal luring

A form of predator mimicry.

Distraction displays

Behaviors used to draw a predator away from a nest or young.

Predator satiation

A strategy where prey are so abundant that predators can only consume a small fraction of them.

Constitutive defenses

Permanent defense features like cryptic coloration, mimicry, or armor.

Induced defenses

Defenses triggered by the presence or action of predators, such as behavioral or chemical defenses.

True Predator

Carnivores that kill and consume multiple prey animals.

Parasitoids

Insects that lay their eggs on or in a host insect, which the larvae then consume, eventually killing the host.