Aposematic coloration, commonly observed in noxious organisms, serves as a warning to predators to avoid attacking specific prey. This coloration is conspicuous in nature, with one of the most common examples being a red and black pattern. The plant Abrus precatorius exhibits this warning signal in its seeds, which resemble lady beetles and contain the concentrated toxin abrin. Aphelocoma coerulescens, an endemic and federally threatened bird in the state of Florida, shares a similar distribution with Abrus precatorius, making interaction between the two species possible. Using an edible model of the Abrus seed, this potential interaction was tested in Martin and Palm Beach County populations of Aphelocoma coerulescens by presenting a red and white seed to individual scrub jays to determine whether they showed a preference for or avoidance of the red model seed. Results showed a significant tendency by the birds to prefer white over red, indicating that the color, independent of other warning signals, functions aposematically to discourage predation of Abrus precatorius seeds.
","abstract_html":"<p>Aposematic coloration, commonly observed in noxious organisms, serves as a warning to predators to avoid attacking specific prey. This coloration is conspicuous in nature, with one of the most common examples being a red and black pattern. The plant Abrus precatorius exhibits this warning signal in its seeds, which resemble lady beetles and contain the concentrated toxin abrin. Aphelocoma coerulescens, an endemic and federally threatened bird in the state of Florida, shares a similar distribution with Abrus precatorius, making interaction between the two species possible. Using an edible model of the Abrus seed, this potential interaction was tested in Martin and Palm Beach County populations of Aphelocoma coerulescens by presenting a red and white seed to individual scrub jays to determine whether they showed a preference for or avoidance of the red model seed. Results showed a significant tendency by the birds to prefer white over red, indicating that the color, independent of other warning signals, functions aposematically to discourage predation of Abrus precatorius seeds.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hill, Mary Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Biology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Harlan J. Hendricks"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2003,"date_issued":"2003-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2003-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:48Z","subjects":["Aposematic Coloration","Abrus Precatorius","Aphelocoma Coerlescens","Predation","Prey","Behavior and Ethology","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/120","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Harlan J. Hendricks"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hill, Mary Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2015-10-13T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Biology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Aposematic Coloration","Abrus Precatorius","Aphelocoma Coerlescens","Predation","Prey","Behavior and Ethology","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/120"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Aposematic coloration, commonly observed in noxious organisms, serves as a warning to predators to avoid attacking specific prey. This coloration is conspicuous in nature, with one of the most common examples being a red and black pattern. The plant Abrus precatorius exhibits this warning signal in its seeds, which resemble lady beetles and contain the concentrated toxin abrin. Aphelocoma coerulescens, an endemic and federally threatened bird in the state of Florida, shares a similar distribution with Abrus precatorius, making interaction between the two species possible. Using an edible model of the Abrus seed, this potential interaction was tested in Martin and Palm Beach County populations of Aphelocoma coerulescens by presenting a red and white seed to individual scrub jays to determine whether they showed a preference for or avoidance of the red model seed. Results showed a significant tendency by the birds to prefer white over red, indicating that the color, independent of other warning signals, functions aposematically to discourage predation of Abrus precatorius seeds.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effect of Aposematic Coloration on the Food Preference of Aphelocoma coerulescens, the Florida Scrub Jay"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Harlan J. Hendricks"],"dc:creator":["Hill, Mary Elizabeth"],"dc:date.available":["2015-10-13T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Aposematic coloration, commonly observed in noxious organisms, serves as a warning to predators to avoid attacking specific prey. This coloration is conspicuous in nature, with one of the most common examples being a red and black pattern. The plant Abrus precatorius exhibits this warning signal in its seeds, which resemble lady beetles and contain the concentrated toxin abrin. Aphelocoma coerulescens, an endemic and federally threatened bird in the state of Florida, shares a similar distribution with Abrus precatorius, making interaction between the two species possible. Using an edible model of the Abrus seed, this potential interaction was tested in Martin and Palm Beach County populations of Aphelocoma coerulescens by presenting a red and white seed to individual scrub jays to determine whether they showed a preference for or avoidance of the red model seed. Results showed a significant tendency by the birds to prefer white over red, indicating that the color, independent of other warning signals, functions aposematically to discourage predation of Abrus precatorius seeds.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://csuepress.columbusstate.edu/theses_dissertations/120"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Aposematic Coloration","Abrus Precatorius","Aphelocoma Coerlescens","Predation","Prey","Behavior and Ethology","Biology","Ecology and Evolutionary Biology"],"dc:title":["The Effect of Aposematic Coloration on the Food Preference of Aphelocoma coerulescens, the Florida Scrub Jay"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Biology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:48Z"}