Asst. Prof Emily Burdfield-Steel

Many organisms use chemical defenses to deter would-be predators. We often think of chemical defenses as highly toxic – such as the alkaloids of poison dart frogs. However, many species have relatively weak chemical defenses, in some cases only rendering the organisms “unpalatable” – aka bad tasting. Why do such weak defenses persist? I will first discuss our experimental work demonstrating the costs of producing chemical defenses in the wood tiger moth. I will then discuss how predator decision making can shape communities of chemically defended prey – and that even weak defenses may be useful as long as they render you worse than the competition. Finally, I will use predator-prey interactions as a case-study to demonstrate the potential of marketing and human-consumer theory in helping us bridge the gap from laboratory experiments to complex community dynamics.