Modelling the Evolution of Warning Signals and Mimicry with Individual-Based Simulations

The candidate confirms that the work submitted is his own and that the appropriate credit has been given where reference has been made to the work of others. This copy has been supplied on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. Individual-based evolutionary simulation models are used alongside mathematical ap-proaches as tools for investigating the selective pressures responsible for the origin and maintenance of animal warning displays and mimicry. The early chapters of the thesis review the literature on evolution and coevolution in general, as well as setting out a position on the use of computational models in science. The focus then moves to the evolution of warning displays and a review of the biological literature is presented, followed by an evolutionary simulation model. Bright warning displays of defended animals (those possessing a defence such as a sting or toxin) are among the most salient signalling systems in nature. Examples include black and yellow striped stinging wasps, bitter-tasting ladybird beetles, and brightly coloured, toxic but