Meeting Abstract
Stomatopod crustaceans have the most complex visual systems described in animals and display species-specific color signals used in aggressive interactions; yet very little is known about the evolution or function of coloration in these species. In particular, many stomatopods have species-specific colored patches on the inside of the raptorial appendages called ‘meral spots’ that are displayed in multiple behavioral contexts. To understand the drivers of diversity in signaling coloration of the stomatopod meral spot, we are investigating the patterns of color signal trait evolution in the genus Neogonodactylus (Stomatopoda, Crustacea). We have collected reflectance and genetic data from seven of the 22 described Neogonodactylus species. Meral spot reflectance spectra were used to determine the color of the meral spot, and to calculate standard color metrics including hue, brightness and chroma. Sequence data from five genes (COI, 16S, 18S, 28S, and H3) were used to create a phylogeny of the species, and comparative phylogenetic methods were used to evaluate patterns of color evolution. We used ancestral state reconstruction to look at the evolution of meral spot color. Our results suggest that closely related species tend to differ in color of the meral spot and that color evolved independently in clades found in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Continuing studies will estimate divergence times among species to date the timing of color changes.
