Warning signals are predicted to develop signal monomorphism via positive frequency‐dependent selection (+FDS) albeit many aposematic systems exhibit signal polymorphism. To understand this mismatch, we conducted a large‐scale predation experiment in four countries, among which the frequencies of hindwing warning coloration of the aposematic moth, Arctia plantaginis, differ. Here we show that selection by avian predators on warning colour is predicted by local morph frequency and predator community composition. We found +FDS to be the strongest in monomorphic Scotland and lowest in polymorphic Finland, where the attack risk of moth morphs depended on the local avian community. +FDS was also found where the predator community was the least diverse (Georgia), whereas in the most diverse avian community (Estonia), hardly any models were attacked. Our results support the idea that spatial variation in predator communities alters the strength or direction of selection on warning signals, thus facilitating a geographic mosaic of selection.

中文翻译：

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鸟类捕食者在多态性防蛀蛾的后警告颜色上选择的地理镶嵌。

预测警告信号将通过正频率相关选择（+ FDS）发展信号单态性，尽管许多防伪系统都表现出信号多态性。为了了解这种不匹配，我们在四个国家/地区进行了大规模的捕食实验，其中包括惯性飞蛾Arctia plantaginis，不同。在这里，我们表明鸟类捕食者对警告颜色的选择是由局部变体频率和捕食者群落组成预测的。我们发现，+ FDS在单态苏格兰最强，而在多态芬兰则最低，在这里，飞蛾形态的发作风险取决于当地的鸟类群落。在捕食者群落多样性最少的地区（乔治亚州），也发现了+ FDS，而在鸟类多样性最为多样化的地区（爱沙尼亚），几乎没有模型遭到攻击。我们的研究结果支持这样一种观点，即捕食者群落中的空间变化会改变警告信号上选择的强度或方向，从而促进选择的地理镶嵌。