Meeting Abstract
Predation can impose a strong selective pressure. In turn, prey can evolve extraordinary defenses (i.e., anti-predatory traits) that reduce their vulnerability, contributing to the morphological and behavioral diversity we see in animals today. One of the most extreme forms of anti-predatory defense is autotomy, as individuals literally sacrifice part of their body attempting to get away. A lizard dropping its tail to escape predation is an iconic example. However, autotomy also occurs in a diversity of other organisms: octopuses can release their arms, crabs can drop their claws, and bugs can amputate their legs. Still, despite having multiple origins, fundamental questions of how this extreme trait evolves remain unanswered. Most notably, how does a population go from being unable to autotomize, to being able to drop their limbs quickly enough to escape the grasp of a predator? To provide insights into this question, we investigated the evolution of autotomy (latency and ability) in leaf-footed bugs (Hemiptera: Coreoidea) using a macroevolutionary approach.
