Publication Type:
Journal ArticleSource:
American Midland Naturalist, University of Notre Dame Press, Volume 113, Issue 2, p.401-403 (1985)Call Number:
A85FOR01IDUSURL:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2425589Keywords:
Blarina brevicauda, Deer Mouse, deermouse, Elgaria coerulea, Northern Alligator Lizard, northern short-tailed shrew, Peromyscus maniculatus, Sceloporus occidentalis, western fence lizardAbstract:
The acceptability of an introduced species of prey, cinnabar moth caterpillars (Tyria jacobaeae), to three species of sympatric predators and one allopatric predator was examined. These caterpillars were toxic to three [northern] alligator lizards tested, completely avoided by [northern] short-tailed shrews, and avoided after one contact by deermice [deer mice] and western fence lizards. These results suggest that some predators learn to avoid toxic caterpillars but that this toxic-introduced species may have a negative impact on populations of other predators.
Notes:
ELECTRONIC FILE - Zoology