Joe Tuffnel

• BSc (Hons) Zoology
• ‘Survival of the bitterest’: Taste-rejection behaviour of praying mantids and the evolution of distasteful toxins in prey.

Many insects contain toxins to defend themselves against predators. Often these toxins are distasteful, allowing predators to reject those prey that taste too unpalatable. This project tests theories concerning the evolution of distasteful toxins using praying mantids as predators. First, we will quantify the gustatory abilities of the praying mantids, asking: do they detect toxins placed on their legs and mouthparts, and are they more responsive to increasing concentrations of toxins? Then we will test whether praying mantids are more likely to release prey which have increasing amounts of toxins, and predict that those which have more toxins survive better.

Funding Source:  Nuffield Foundation