Defining disruptive coloration and distinguishing its functions

Stevens, Martin; Merilaita, Sami

doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0216

Cited by 258 publications

(249 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This immediately suggests that the coloured scales in the concave pits serve to camouflage the weevil against a mainly green background (see also figure 1a), especially for their common predators, birds [40]. Further, the dotted arrangement of the pits on the elytra will support camouflage by disruptive patterning, a common mechanism to achieve camouflage [8], e.g. applied by cuttlefish [7,41].…”

Section: Discussion (A) Biophotonic Structures In Weevils and Beetlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brilliant camouflage : photonic crystals in the diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis

et al. 2012

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The neotropical diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis, is marked by rows of brilliant spots on the overall black elytra. The spots are concave pits with intricate patterns of structural-coloured scales, consisting of large domains of three-dimensional photonic crystals that have a diamond-type structure. Reflectance spectra measured from individual scale domains perfectly match model spectra, calculated with anatomical data and finite-difference time-domain methods. The reflections of single domains are extremely directional (observed with a point source less than 58), but the special arrangement of the scales in the concave pits significantly broadens the angular distribution of the reflections. The resulting virtually angle-independent green coloration of the weevil closely approximates the colour of a foliaceous background. While the closedistance colourful shininess of E. imperialis may facilitate intersexual recognition, the diffuse green reflectance of the elytra when seen at long-distance provides cryptic camouflage.

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Section: Discussion (A) Biophotonic Structures In Weevils and Beetlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brilliant camouflage : photonic crystals in the diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis

et al. 2012

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“…An inducible morphological defence can increase a prey's chance of escaping an attack [19]; in this case, pigmentation linked to camouflage may decrease predation rate by reducing encounter rates with predators [10]. Furthermore, pigmentation can improve crypsis owing to, for example, background matching [8,9] or disruptive coloration in which prey try to break the outline of the body [20]. We showed that snails exposed to predatory fish increased the amount of pigmentation without affecting the pattern complexity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Camouflaged or tanned: plasticity in freshwater snail pigmentation

Ahlgren

Hansson

et al. 2013

Biol. Lett.

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By having phenotypically plastic traits, many organisms optimize their fitness in response to fluctuating threats. Freshwater snails with translucent shells, e.g. snails from the Radix genus, differ considerably in their mantle pigmentation patterns, with snails from the same water body ranging from being completely dark pigmented to having only a few dark patterns. These pigmentation differences have previously been suggested to be genetically fixed, but we propose that this polymorphism is owing to phenotypic plasticity in response to a fluctuating environment. Hence, we here aimed to assess whether common stressors, including ultraviolet radiation (UVR) and predation, induce a plastic response in mantle pigmentation patterns of Radix balthica. We show, in contrast to previous studies, that snails are plastic in their expression of mantle pigmentation in response to changes in UVR and predator threats, i.e. differences among populations are not genetically fixed. When exposed to cues from visually hunting fish, R. balthica increased the proportion of their dark pigmentation, suggesting a crypsis strategy. Snails increased their pigmentation even further in response to UVR, but this also led to a reduction in pattern complexity. Furthermore, when exposed to UVR and fish simultaneously, snails responded in the same way as in the UVR treatment, suggesting a trade-off between photoprotection and crypsis.

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“…Disruptive coloration creates the appearance of false edges and also destroys the appearance of the true body edges and outline, which hinders the ability of a predator to detect or recognize an animal by its shape (Thayer 1909; Cott 1940; Stevens and Merilaita 2009b, 2011; Webster et al. 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2005, 2006; Merilaita and Lind 2005; Fraser et al. 2007) is the “disruptive marginal pattern,” in which the disruptive markings touch the outline of the prey's body (Cott 1940; Stevens and Merilaita 2009b). Disruptive marginal patterns are effective even when some of the pattern elements do not visually match adjacent parts of the background (Cuthill et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2006; but see Hegna and Mappes 2014). However, some evidence indicates that the survival of individuals with disruptive color patterns characterized by extremely high contrast between adjacent color pattern elements (i.e., “maximum disruptive contrast”; Stevens and Merilaita 2009b) is worse than that of individuals with less contrasting patterns, because the contrast of the pattern elements with background elements is also high (Fraser et al. 2007; Stobbe and Schaefer 2008; Troscianko et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth

Honma

Mappes

Valkonen

2015

Ecology and Evolution

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Warning (aposematic) and cryptic colorations appear to be mutually incompatible because the primary function of the former is to increase detectability, whereas the function of the latter is to decrease it. Disruptive coloration is a type of crypsis in which the color pattern breaks up the outline of the prey, thus hindering its detection. This delusion can work even when the prey's pattern elements are highly contrasting; thus, it is possible for an animal's coloration to combine both warning and disruptive functions. The coloration of the wood tiger moth (Parasemia plantaginis) is such that the moth is conspicuous when it rests on vegetation, but when it feigns death and drops to the grass‐ and litter‐covered ground, it is hard to detect. This death‐feigning behavior therefore immediately switches the function of its coloration from signaling to camouflage. We experimentally tested whether the forewing patterning of wood tiger moths could function as disruptive coloration against certain backgrounds. Using actual forewing patterns of wood tiger moths, we crafted artificial paper moths and placed them on a background image resembling a natural litter and grass background. We manipulated the disruptiveness of the wing pattern so that all (marginal pattern) or none (nonmarginal pattern) of the markings extended to the edge of the wing. Paper moths, each with a hidden palatable food item, were offered to great tits (Parus major) in a large aviary where the birds could search for and attack the “moths” according to their detectability. The results showed that prey items with the disruptive marginal pattern were attacked less often than prey without it. However, the disruptive function was apparent only when the prey was brighter than the background. These results suggest that warning coloration and disruptive coloration can work in concert and that the moth, by feigning death, can switch the function of its coloration from warning to disruptive.

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Defining disruptive coloration and distinguishing its functions

Cited by 258 publications

References 39 publications

Brilliant camouflage : photonic crystals in the diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis

Brilliant camouflage : photonic crystals in the diamond weevil, Entimus imperialis

Camouflaged or tanned: plasticity in freshwater snail pigmentation

Warning coloration can be disruptive: aposematic marginal wing patterning in the wood tiger moth

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