Question

In the biotic community, which one of the following can be called a protective device?
(A) Symbiosis
(B) Mimicry
(C) Competiton
(D) Parasitism

Answer 1

Hint: In various situations, animals use colour camouflage to protect them from other animals. It can be identified by its body colour, form, or both in order to hide the predator.

Complete Step by Step Answer:
A defence mechanism or strategy used by creatures to disguise their appearance is camouflage which is also known as cryptic colouring. It usually allows them to fit in with their surroundings. Camouflage is when an animal species resembles an inanimate object and mimicry is a colour camouflage of the similarity of animal species.

Mimicry is a biological phenomenon that occurs when two or more animals that are not closely related taxonomically resemble one another on the surface. By deceiving the living agent of natural selection, this likeness grants one or both creatures an advantage, such as protection from predators. The most impressive example of colour camouflage is the mimicry phenomenon, which is common, especially among butterflies and moths. Those species that are powerful and have a few natural adversaries are typically imitated. The agent of selection (which might be a predator, a symbiont, or a parasite's host) interacts with similar species directly and is deceived by their similarity depending on the sort of mimicry encountered. This form of natural selection distinguishes various convergent likenesses that result from the activity of other natural selection forces (such as temperature, and food preferences) on unrelated animals.

Batesian mimicry, Mullerian mimicry, and self-mimicry are the three types of mimicry that are used by both predators and prey. When two or more species have a similar look but only one of them is equipped with spines, stingers, or toxic chemicals, while its apparent duplicate isn't, this is referred to as Batesian mimicry. The numerous butterfly species that imitate the poisonous Heliconid butterflies are examples of Batesian mimicry. Mullerian mimicry involves two repulsive species that resemble one another and have obvious warning colours, also referred to as aposematic colouration. Examples are the poison arrow frogs of South America and the Mantella frogs of Madagascar, which are distinguished by their bright colouration against black patterns and deadly makeup. The word "self-mimicry" is deceptive because it refers to animals that have a bodily feature that can imitate another to boost their chances of surviving an attack or make predators seem harmless. Numerous species of moth, butterfly, and freshwater fish, for instance, have big, dark patterns called "eye-spots" that, when flashed, may momentarily scare a predator and give the prey additional time to flee.
Therefore, option (B) Mimicry is correct as it provides protection.


Note: It is important to know about the interaction and relationship between different communities of species to be able to solve this question.