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To be seen or to hide: visual characteristics of body patterns for camouflage and communication in the Australian giant cuttlefish Sepia apama

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 09:54 authored by S Zylinski, M J How, Daniel Colaco OsorioDaniel Colaco Osorio, R T Hanlon, N J Marshall
It might seem obvious that a camouflaged animal must generally match its background whereas to be conspicuous an organism must differ from the background. However, the image parameters (or statistics) that evaluate the conspicuousness of patterns and textures are seldom well defined, and animal coloration patterns are rarely compared quantitatively with their respective backgrounds. Here we examine this issue in the Australian giant cuttlefish Sepia apama. We confine our analysis to the best-known and simplest image statistic, the correlation in intensity between neighboring pixels. Sepia apama can rapidly change their body patterns from assumed conspicuous signaling to assumed camouflage, thus providing an excellent and unique opportunity to investigate how such patterns differ in a single visual habitat. We describe the intensity variance and spatial frequency power spectra of these differing body patterns and compare these patterns with the backgrounds against which they are viewed. The measured image statistics of camouflaged animals closely resemble their backgrounds, while signaling animals differ significantly from their backgrounds. Our findings may provide the basis for a set of general rules for crypsis and signals. Furthermore, our methods may be widely applicable to the quantitative study of animal coloration.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

American Naturalist

ISSN

0003-0147

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Issue

5

Volume

177

Page range

681-690

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Notes

Although listed as 3rd author I had a major input into origination, conception,design and writing of this paper. The basic idea is mine and The 1st author was my BBSRC PhD student at the time the work was done.

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2012-02-06

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