Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference
Animal camouflage is a paradigmatic example of evolution by natural selection, and can only be understood in terms of adaptation to deceive the brains of potential predators and to the environment. Counter-shading is a very common pattern of coloration in the animal kingdom. Countershaded animals ar...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2014-08-01
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| Series: | i-Perception |
| Online Access: | http://ipe.sagepub.com/content/5/5/471.full.pdf |
| _version_ | 1828519901404332032 |
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| author | O Penacchio P.G Lovell G.D Ruxton I.C Cuthill J.M Harris |
| author_facet | O Penacchio P.G Lovell G.D Ruxton I.C Cuthill J.M Harris |
| author_sort | O Penacchio |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Animal camouflage is a paradigmatic example of evolution by natural selection, and can only be understood in terms of adaptation to deceive the brains of potential predators and to the environment. Counter-shading is a very common pattern of coloration in the animal kingdom. Countershaded animals are darker on the side that faces a greater light intensity (typically, the back) and have a lighter opposite face. This pattern counterbalances shadowing and may make the animal harder to see against its background, or potentially modifies its perceived shape. Here we model the interaction of light and body shape to predict what the coloration of an animal should be to deceive a predator that has evolved the ability to detect shape from shading. We assess to what extent optimal patterns for crypsis depend on both light distribution and body orientation. We unveil the logical link between matching the background and reducing shape cues. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:21:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b1817d3733f54a53b132ae1dd36f388d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2041-6695 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T19:21:19Z |
| publishDate | 2014-08-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | i-Perception |
| spelling | doaj.art-b1817d3733f54a53b132ae1dd36f388d2022-12-22T00:53:31ZengSAGE Publishingi-Perception2041-66952014-08-015547147110.1068/ii4010.1068_ii40Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading InferenceO Penacchio0P.G Lovell1G.D Ruxton2I.C Cuthill3J.M Harris4School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UKDivision of Psychology, Social and Health Sciences, Abertay University, UKSchool of Biology, University of St Andrews, UKSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UKSchool of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, UKAnimal camouflage is a paradigmatic example of evolution by natural selection, and can only be understood in terms of adaptation to deceive the brains of potential predators and to the environment. Counter-shading is a very common pattern of coloration in the animal kingdom. Countershaded animals are darker on the side that faces a greater light intensity (typically, the back) and have a lighter opposite face. This pattern counterbalances shadowing and may make the animal harder to see against its background, or potentially modifies its perceived shape. Here we model the interaction of light and body shape to predict what the coloration of an animal should be to deceive a predator that has evolved the ability to detect shape from shading. We assess to what extent optimal patterns for crypsis depend on both light distribution and body orientation. We unveil the logical link between matching the background and reducing shape cues.http://ipe.sagepub.com/content/5/5/471.full.pdf |
| spellingShingle | O Penacchio P.G Lovell G.D Ruxton I.C Cuthill J.M Harris Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference i-Perception |
| title | Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference |
| title_full | Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference |
| title_fullStr | Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference |
| title_full_unstemmed | Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference |
| title_short | Countershading Camouflage: Exploiting Photons to Break Shape-From-Shading Inference |
| title_sort | countershading camouflage exploiting photons to break shape from shading inference |
| url | http://ipe.sagepub.com/content/5/5/471.full.pdf |
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