Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range
Abstract The best-supported hypothesis for why zebras have stripes is that stripes repel biting flies. While this effect is well-established, the mechanism behind it remains elusive. Myriad hypotheses have been suggested, but few experiments have helped narrow the field of possible explanations. In...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22333-7 |
| _version_ | 1811329114985988096 |
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| author | Kaia J. Tombak Andrew S. Gersick Lily V. Reisinger Brenda Larison Daniel I. Rubenstein |
| author_facet | Kaia J. Tombak Andrew S. Gersick Lily V. Reisinger Brenda Larison Daniel I. Rubenstein |
| author_sort | Kaia J. Tombak |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The best-supported hypothesis for why zebras have stripes is that stripes repel biting flies. While this effect is well-established, the mechanism behind it remains elusive. Myriad hypotheses have been suggested, but few experiments have helped narrow the field of possible explanations. In addition, the complex visual features of real zebra pelage and the natural range of stripe widths have been largely left out of experimental designs. In paired-choice field experiments in a Kenyan savannah, we found that hungry Stomoxys flies released in an enclosure strongly preferred to land on uniform tan impala pelts over striped zebra pelts but exhibited no preference between the pelts of the zebra species with the widest stripes and the narrowest stripes. Our findings confirm that zebra stripes repel biting flies under naturalistic conditions and do so at close range (suggesting that several of the mechanisms hypothesized to operate at a distance are unnecessary for the fly-repulsion effect) but indicate that interspecific variation in stripe width is associated with selection pressures other than biting flies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T15:37:00Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dba037baf5ff45689b7ce6e7a6f822cd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T15:37:00Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-dba037baf5ff45689b7ce6e7a6f822cd2022-12-22T02:41:14ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222022-11-011211810.1038/s41598-022-22333-7Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close rangeKaia J. Tombak0Andrew S. Gersick1Lily V. Reisinger2Brenda Larison3Daniel I. Rubenstein4Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton UniversityDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of CaliforniaDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton UniversityAbstract The best-supported hypothesis for why zebras have stripes is that stripes repel biting flies. While this effect is well-established, the mechanism behind it remains elusive. Myriad hypotheses have been suggested, but few experiments have helped narrow the field of possible explanations. In addition, the complex visual features of real zebra pelage and the natural range of stripe widths have been largely left out of experimental designs. In paired-choice field experiments in a Kenyan savannah, we found that hungry Stomoxys flies released in an enclosure strongly preferred to land on uniform tan impala pelts over striped zebra pelts but exhibited no preference between the pelts of the zebra species with the widest stripes and the narrowest stripes. Our findings confirm that zebra stripes repel biting flies under naturalistic conditions and do so at close range (suggesting that several of the mechanisms hypothesized to operate at a distance are unnecessary for the fly-repulsion effect) but indicate that interspecific variation in stripe width is associated with selection pressures other than biting flies.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22333-7 |
| spellingShingle | Kaia J. Tombak Andrew S. Gersick Lily V. Reisinger Brenda Larison Daniel I. Rubenstein Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range Scientific Reports |
| title | Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| title_full | Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| title_fullStr | Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| title_full_unstemmed | Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| title_short | Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| title_sort | zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22333-7 |
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