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Dryad

Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis

Cite this dataset

Burke, Nathan; Holwell, Gregory (2023). Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.nzs7h44xk

Abstract

Within-species variation in colour phenotypes is widespread in animals. One mechanism by which such variation can be maintained is plastic background matching, where individuals plastically develop a similar colour to that of their surroundings. A few examples are known from insects that exhibit green-brown colour polyphenisms. But the extent to which plastic colour responses are shaped by other factors, such as genetic variation in plasticity or the interaction of other environmental cues, is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the plasticity of body colouration in the springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra—a species where hatchlings emerge brown in colour and typically change to green but sometimes remain entirely or partly brown through successive moults. We reared 350 mantises from 10 full-sib families on a green or brown background under a high or low temperature and a high or low humidity using a fully-factorial, split-brood design, and recorded colour phenotypes (all green, all brown, or mixed colouration) after 14 weeks of development. We found very strong evidence of developmental plasticity for background matching: the green background induced a higher incidence of the all-green phenotype, whereas the brown background produced more of the all-brown and mixed phenotypes. The all-green phenotype was also universally more common under higher humidity, and under higher temperature when the background was green. However, not all body parts showed the same level of environmental sensitivity: the steepest reaction norms were observed in the mid-legs and hindlegs, potentially reflecting the selection for disruptive colouration of the body outline in browner environments. Using model comparison techniques, we found little evidence of genotype-level variation in colour plasticity—a pattern likely the result of strong viability selection for camouflage. Our study shows how developmental plasticity in colouration can be triggered directly by the colour of the environment and indirectly by climatic cues associated with habitat colouration. We argue that this high level of developmental plasticity has likely evolved due to the diversity of habitats but the sedentary lifestyle of this sit-and-wait predator.



README: GENERAL INFORMATION

1. Title of Dataset

Data for: Plastic background colour matching in the springbok mantis

2. Author Information

Dr. Nathan W Burke
Institute for Cell and Systems Biology
Department of Biology
Universität Hamburg
20146 Hamburg
GERMANY

Dr. Gregory Holwell
School of Biological Sciences
Thomas Building Extension - Building 110N
3A Symonds St
University of Auckland
Auckland Central
Auckland 1010
NEW ZEALAND

3. Date of data collection

April to October 2021

4. Geographic location of data collection

Auckland, New Zealand

DATA & FILE OVERVIEW

1. File List

Data is contained in a single file: Mantis_colouration_data_for_publication.csv

METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION

1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data:

In a laboratory experiment with a split brood design that used full sib offspring from 10 families, we manipulated temperature (18 versus 28 degrees Celsius), humidity (50% versus 100%), and background colouration (green versus brown) to assess the extent to which colour development in Miomantis caffra is environmentally induced. Fourteen weeks after hatchlings entered the experiment, we recorded the colour of each of 6 major body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, foreleg femur, mid-leg femur, and hindleg femur) as well as the colour of the overall phenotype (all brown, all green, mixed colouration).

DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION

1. Name of dataset:

Mantis_colouration_data_for_publication.csv

2. Number of variables

13

3. Number of cases/rows

350 (one row per individual offspring)

4. Variable List

A. 'background.trt' (categorical): Treatment variable for background colour (green versus brown)
B. 'temp.trt' (categorical): Treatment variable for temperature (18 versus 28 degrees Celsius)
C. 'humidity.trt' (categorical): Treatment variable for humidity (50% versus 100%)
D. 'phenotype.categorical' (categorical): The colour of the mantis's phenotype as a categorical response (all brown, mixed colouration, all green)
E. 'phenotype.ordinal' (integer): The colour of the mantis's phenotype as an ordered response (1 for all brown < 2 for mixed colouration < 3 for all green)
F. 'head.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their head to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
G. 'thorax.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their thorax to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
H. 'abdomen.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their abdomen to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
I. 'forelegs.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their forelegs to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
J. 'midlegs.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their mid-legs to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
K. 'hindlegs.change.presence' (binary): Whether or not mantises changed the colour of their hindlegs to green (1 for change, 0 for no change)
L. 'mother.id' (categorical): Family-level identifier
M. 'individual.id' (categorical): Replicate-level identifier for individual offspring

Methods

In a laboratory experiment with a split brood design that used full sib offspring from 10 families, we manipulated temperature (18 versus 28 degrees Celsius), humidity (50% versus 100%), and background colouration (green versus brown) to assess the extent to which colour development in Miomantis caffra is environmentally induced. Fourteen weeks after hatchlings entered the experiment, we recorded the colour of each of 6 major body parts (head, thorax, abdomen, foreleg femur, mid-leg femur, and hindleg femur) as well as the colour of the overall phenotype (all brown, all green, mixed colouration).

Funding

University of Auckland, Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF) Grant

University of Auckland, Faculty Research Development Fund (FRDF) Grant