The Case Western Reserve University Department of Biology and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History will host a public talk on Batesian mimicry Wednesday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in the museum’s Murch Auditorium.
David Pfennig, professor of biology at the University of North Carolina, will present a public talk exploring Batesian mimicry among deadly coral snakes and their lookalikes.
Some of nature’s most spectacular adaptations are examples of Batesian mimicry, which evolve when individuals of a palatable species gain a selective advantage because they resemble a toxic species that predators avoid.
Pfennig’s talk will address the following questions:
- How does mimicry evolve in the first place?
- Why is mimicry often imprecise?
- What role does mimicry play in the origin of new species?
