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

Behavioral Ecology

Volumn 23, Issue 2, 2012, Pages 384-390

  Dimitrova, Marina ^a,c   Merilaita, Sami ^b  

^a STOCKHOLM UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

^b ÅBO AKADEMI UNIVERSITY   (Finland)

^c UPPSALA UNIVERSITY   (Sweden)

Author keywords

background matching; camouflage; crypsis; predation; prey coloration; spatial regularity

Indexed keywords

COLOR MORPH; COMPLEXITY; CRYPSIS; EXPERIMENTAL STUDY; MIMICRY; PASSERINE; PREDATOR-PREY INTERACTION; SPATIAL ANALYSIS;

CYANISTES CAERULEUS;

EID: 84857522151     PISSN: 10452249     EISSN: 14657279     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr201     Document Type: Article

References (32)

1. Alatalo RV, Mappes J. 1996. Tracking the evolution of warning signals. Nature. 382:708-710.
2. Cott HB. 1940. Adaptive coloration in animals. London: Methuen.
3. Cuthill IC, Hiby E, Lloyd E. 2006. The predation costs of symmetrical cryptic coloration. Proc R Soc B. 273:1267-1271.
4. Cuthill IC, Stevens M, Sheppard J, Maddocks T, Párraga CA, Troscianko TS. 2005. Disruptive coloration and background pattern matching. Nature. 434:72-74.
5. Cuthill IC, Székely A. 2009. Coincident disruptive coloration. Phil Trans R Soc B. 364:489-496.
6. Dimitrova M, Merilaita S. 2010. Prey concealment: visual background complexity and prey contrast distribution. Behav Ecol. 21:176-181.
7. Dimitrova M, Stobbe N, Schaefer HM, Merilaita S. 2009. Concealed by conspicuousness: distractive prey markings and backgrounds. Proc R Soc B. 276:1905-1910.
8. Dukas R. 2004. Causes and consequences of limited attention. Brain Behav Evol. 63:197-210.
9. Dukas R, Kamil AC. 2001. Limited attention: the constraint underlying search image. Behav Ecol. 12:192-199.
10. Duncan J, Humphreys GW. 1989. Visual search and stimulus similarity. Psychol Rev. 96:433-458.
11. Edmunds M F L S. 1974. Defence in animals: a survey of anti-predator defences. Essex (UK): Longman.
12. Endler JA. 1978. A predator's view of animal color patterns. Evol Biol. 11:319-364.
13. Endler JA. 1984. Progressive background matching in moths, and a quantitative measure of crypsis. Biol J Linn Soc Lond. 22:187-231.
14. Forsman A, Herrström J. 2004. Asymmetry in size, shape, and color impairs the protective value of conspicuous color patterns. Behav Ecol. 15:141-147.
15. Forsman A, Merilaita S. 1999. Fearful symmetry: pattern size and asymmetry affects aposematic signal efficacy. Evol Ecol. 13:131-140.
16. Gordon IE. 1968. Interactions between items in visual search. J Exp Psychol. 76:248-355.
17. Houston AI, Stevens M, Cuthill IC. 2007. Animal camouflage: compromise or specialize in a 2 patch-type environment? Behav Ecol. 18:769-775.
18. Kenward B, Wachtmeister C-A, Ghirlanda S, Enquist M. 2004. Spots and stripes: the evolution of repetition in visual signal form. J Theor Biol. 230:407-419.
19. Merilaita S. 2003. Visual background complexity facilitates the evolution of camouflage. Evolution. 57:1248-1254.
20. Merilaita S, Lind J. 2005. Background-matching and disruptive coloration, and the evolution of cryptic coloration. Proc R Soc B Biol Sci. 272:665-670.
21. Merilaita S, Lind J. 2006. Great tits (Parus major) searching for artificial prey: implications for cryptic coloration and symmetry. Behav Ecol. 17:84-87.
22. Merilaita S, Lyytinen A, Mappes J. 2001. Selection for cryptic coloration in a visually heterogeneous habitat. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 268:1925-1929.
23. Merilaita S, Stevens M. 2011. Crypsis through background matching. In: Stevens M, Merilaita S, editors. Animal camouflage: mechanisms and function. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press. p. 17-33.
24. Merilaita S, Tuomi J, Jormalainen V. 1999. Optimization of cryptic coloration in heterogeneous habitats. Biol J Linn Soc. 67:151-161.
25. Ruxton GD, Sherratt TM, Speed MP. 2004. Avoiding attack: the evolutionary ecology of crypsis, warning signals and mimicry. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
26. Sherratt TN, Pollitt D, Wilkinson DM. 2007. The evolution of crypsis in replicating populations of web-based prey. Oikos. 116:449-460.
27. Sokal RR, Rohlf FJ. 1995. Biometry: the principles and practice of statistics in biological research. 3rd ed. New York: W. H. Freeman.
28. Stevens M, Merilaita S. 2009a. Animal camouflage: current issues and new perspectives. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 364:423-427.
29. Stevens M, Merilaita S. 2009b. Defining disruptive coloration and distinguishing its functions. Phil Trans R Soc B. 364:481-488.
30. Thayer AH. 1918. Camouflage. Sci Mon. 7:481-494.
31. Troscianco T, Benton CP, Lovell PG, Tolhurst DJ, Pizlo Z. 2009. Camouflage and visual perception. Phil Trans R Soc B. 364:449-461.
32. Wallace AR. 1889. Darwinism. London: MacMillan and Co.