Adaptive Value
What is adaptive value?
The study of adaptive value examines a given trait or behavior and determines its evolutionary advantage to the organism or species.
Adaptive value in an Indo-Malayan octopus
The mimic octopus found in Indo-Malayan archipelago switches between
impersonating different poisonous or distasteful animals to prevent predation.
It has been known to impersonate lionfish, flatfish and sea snake, all creatures
that prey on its predators. Furthermore, the octopus can tailor its response
to suit the particular situation. As an example, sea- snake mimicry was observed
only during an attack by the damselfish (sea snakes prey on damselfish) [1].
Although this model assumes that the mimic octopus is a Batesian mimic
not much is known about its toxicity due to its recent discovery [7]. However, since it employs predator- avoidance behavior and camouflage often, it is possible that it is non-toxic to a lot of potential predators.
An octopus mimicking the poisonous seasnake (left) compared to the real thing (right)