Prey pattern regularity and background complexity affect detectability of background-matching prey

Dimitrova, Marina; Merilaita, Sami

doi:10.1093/beheco/arr201

Cited by 47 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Thus the genetical control of morphological symmetry, which is probably constrained by locomotor requirements, seems tightly linked to surface patterning (see discussion in Cuthill et al 2006b). Regularity could be expected to be another feature that predators use to break camouflage, and blue tits find prey with spatially regular patterns more rapidly (Dimitrova & Merilaita 2012). …”

Section: Symmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Camouflage and Perceptual Organization in the Animal Kingdom

Osorio

Cuthill²

2014

Oxford Handbooks Online

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General rightsThis document is made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the reference above. Full terms of use are available: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/pure/about/ebr-terms AbstractCamouflage allows the bearer to 'hide in plain sight' by means of colour patterns that interfere with detection. Basic principles of camouflage that were proposed over a century ago by artists and natural historians have informed recent studies that seek to tease apart the different mechanisms by which camouflage exploits perception. The probability of detection is lowered by matching background colours and textures or using sharply contrasting colours to disrupt the body's outline or salient features such as eyes. The effectiveness of much animal camouflage against humans, even though the patterns evolved to fool different viewers, suggests that diverse visual systems share similar principles of perceptual organization. As such, animal camouflage might reveal universal principles that apply regardless of retinal organisation and neural architecture. We review the recent literature on animal camouflage in this light, from experimental studies of texture perception by fish and cephalopod molluscs, to the visual effects used to defeat figure ground segregation of 2-D and 3-D objects in birds and mammals.

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Section: Symmetrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Camouflage and Perceptual Organization in the Animal Kingdom

Osorio

Cuthill²

2014

Oxford Handbooks Online

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“…Bimodal patterns may have been favored by selection over regular patterns in game birds because of the potential costs that regular patterns incur to static camouflage (Merilaita and Lind ; Stevens et al. ; Dimitrova and Merilaita ) and their ability to provide both static and motion camouflage, as well as effective visual signals in their typically cluttered terrestrial habitats (Kenward et al. ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolution of pattern camouflage strategies in waterfowl and game birds

Marshall

Gluckman

2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Visual patterns are common in animals. A broad survey of the literature has revealed that different patterns have distinct functions. Irregular patterns (e.g., stipples) typically function in static camouflage, whereas regular patterns (e.g., stripes) have a dual function in both motion camouflage and communication. Moreover, irregular and regular patterns located on different body regions (“bimodal” patterning) can provide an effective compromise between camouflage and communication and/or enhanced concealment via both static and motion camouflage. Here, we compared the frequency of these three pattern types and traced their evolutionary history using Bayesian comparative modeling in aquatic waterfowl (Anseriformes: 118 spp.), which typically escape predators by flight, and terrestrial game birds (Galliformes: 170 spp.), which mainly use a “sit and hide” strategy to avoid predation. Given these life histories, we predicted that selection would favor regular patterning in Anseriformes and irregular or bimodal patterning in Galliformes and that pattern function complexity should increase over the course of evolution. Regular patterns were predominant in Anseriformes whereas regular and bimodal patterns were most frequent in Galliformes, suggesting that patterns with multiple functions are broadly favored by selection over patterns with a single function in static camouflage. We found that the first patterns to evolve were either regular or bimodal in Anseriformes and either irregular or regular in Galliformes. In both orders, irregular patterns could evolve into regular patterns but not the reverse. Our hypothesis of increasing complexity in pattern camouflage function was supported in Galliformes but not in Anseriformes. These results reveal a trajectory of pattern evolution linked to increasing function complexity in Galliformes although not in Anseriformes, suggesting that both ecology and function complexity can have a profound influence on pattern evolution.

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“…We also found that the two backgrounds that we used did not differ with respect to the level of protection they provided. Such differences could have been induced by differences in the degree of resemblance between the prey and the background or by differences in visual complexity between the backgrounds (Dimitrova & Merilaita , ). The general analysis also indicated a significant change in detection time between subsequent encounters with prey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not only did the number of presentations change the relationship between prey resemblance to background and detectability, but it also generally increased detectability such that the birds took longer to find the prey items in the beginning than at the end of the experiment. Such improvement in search performance is expected if the birds form a search image or become more skilful in the particular search task through learning (Pietrewicz & Kamil ; Dukas & Kamil ; Dimitrova & Merilaita ). As already pointed out, the decrease in search time due to repeated presentations did not differ between the prey types.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy of background matching and prey detection: predation by blue tits indicates intense selection for highly matching prey colour pattern

Merilaita

Dimitrova

2014

Functional Ecology

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Summary 1.Although background matching decreases prey detectability, resemblance between camouflaged prey and their visual background is seldom perfect. This could be because even a moderate resemblance might provide sufficient protection, and additional adjustment of colour pattern might give little benefit. Alternatively, close resemblance to background may not be attained due to trade-offs or constraints. To understand selection on colour patterns of camouflaged prey and the existence of inaccurate background matching, it is necessary to investigate how detectability of a colour pattern varies with its resemblance to the background. 2. We trained wild-caught blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) to search for artificial prey. We manipulated the resemblance of the artificial prey items to the visual backgrounds. 3. For the first half of the twelve repeated prey presentations, we found a nonlinear relationship between resemblance and detectability such that for prey that had high background matching, a change in resemblance resulted in a larger change in detectability than an equal change in resemblance did for prey with lower background matching. However, for the second half of the presentations, this relationship was linear. Moreover, in a two-patch-type habitat, a prey pattern that was a compromise between the two different backgrounds did after few initial presentations equally well as the prey pattern that matched highly one of the backgrounds. 4. Our results indicate an intense selection for close matching in a single background. Yet, in the heterogeneous environment that consisted of two backgrounds, the compromise, which only loosely resembled either background, provided good protection. Therefore, we conclude that cryptic colour patterns that bear only a loose resemblance to a given background, and thus represent inaccurate background matching, may be adaptive outcomes.

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Prey pattern regularity and background complexity affect detectability of background-matching prey

Cited by 47 publications

References 26 publications

Camouflage and Perceptual Organization in the Animal Kingdom

Camouflage and Perceptual Organization in the Animal Kingdom

The evolution of pattern camouflage strategies in waterfowl and game birds

Accuracy of background matching and prey detection: predation by blue tits indicates intense selection for highly matching prey colour pattern

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