To combat predation by Arizona myotis (Myotis occultus) and other insectivorous bats, some moth species - including Euchaetes egle, a moth native to North America - have evolved the ability to produce ultrasonic pulses that, for instance, disrupt the echolocation bats rely on to forage in low-light conditions or, alternatively, serve as aposematic signals (warning of toxicity or distastefulness). David J.L. Agassiz et al. found that Yponomeuta evonymella, a species of small-bodied moths that produces noxious substances, emits ultrasonic pulses that closely resemble the acoustic aposematic signals of Arctia caja, a noxious moth species in the large-bodied Arctiinae family whose distribution overlaps with that of Y. evonymella. The researchers therefore concluded that
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mediumWhich choice most logically completes the text?
A
Y. evonymella and A. caja likely exhibit a form of protective mimicry in which distinct species with chemical defenses develop a nearly identical signal to repel predators.
B
Y. evonymella is an example of a phenomenon in which palatable species gain protection from predators by resembling or mimicking unpalatable or otherwise well-defended species.
C
like certain moths in the Arctiinae family, several species of moths belonging to the genus Yponomeuta produce ultrasonic pulses to communicate noxiousness rather than to disrupt bat echolocation.
D
in both small-bodied and large-bodied moths, acoustic aposematic signaling is more prevalent than previous studies of defenses against bat predation had suggested.