The gene cortex controls mimicry and crypsis in butterflies and moths [PDF]
Nature, 2016 The wing patterns of butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) are diverse and striking examples of evolutionary diversification by natural selection. Lepidopteran wing colour patterns are a key innovation, consisting of arrays of coloured scales. We still lack a general understanding of how these patterns are controlled and whether this control shows any ...
Nadeau, Nicola +18 more
openaire +7 more sources
Camouflage predicts survival in ground-nesting birds [PDF]
, 2016 ArticleEvading detection by predators is crucial for survival. Camouflage is therefore a widespread adaptation, but despite substantial research effort our understanding of different camouflage strategies has relied predominantly on artificial systems ...
Spottiswoode, CN +3 more
core +1 more source
Potential Causes of Shedding Aggregations in Prairie Rattlesnakes
Ecology and Evolution, Volume 16, Issue 4, April 2026.The mechanisms that underpin aggregation behavior in animals—and the cues that elicit it—inform our understanding of how animals resolve tradeoffs among selection pressures. We documented aggregation during ecdysis in a population of asynchronously shedding prairie rattlesnakes (Crotalus viridis) and tested predictions generated from the four ...
Emily Martin, Courtney J. Conway
wiley +1 more source
Venom in Furs: Facial Masks as Aposematic Signals in a Venomous Mammal
Toxins, 2019 The function of colouration in animals includes concealment, communication and signaling, such as the use of aposematism as a warning signal. Aposematism is unusual in mammals, and exceptions help us to understand its ecology and evolution.
K. Anne-Isola Nekaris +6 more
doaj +1 more source
Interpopulational variation in costs of reproduction related to pregnancy in a viviparous lizard [PDF]
, 2012 Interpopulational variation in reproductive costs may affect variation in life history traits including reproductive investment (i.e. clutch mass relative to either maternal body mass or length). While the relationships between reproductive investment
Edwards, A +3 more
core +1 more source
Defense behavior and tail loss in the endemic lizard Eurolophosaurus nanuzae (Squamata, Tropiduridae) from southeastern Brazil [PDF]
, 2006 Defense behavior of the endemic tropidurid lizard Eurolophosaurus nanuzae was studied in an area of rocky outcrops at Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais State, southeastern Brazil.
Angélica F. Fontes +3 more
core +2 more sources
, 2019 Light sensing by tissues distinct from the eye occurs in diverse animal groups, enabling circadian control and phototactic behaviour. Extraocular photoreceptors may also facilitate rapid colour change in cephalopods and lizards, but little is known about
Eacock, A. +5 more
core +1 more source
Juvenile plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) produce camouflage by flexibly combining two separate patterns [PDF]
, 2006 Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a flatfish well-known for the ability to vary its body pattern, probably for camouflage. This study investigates the repertoire of patterns used by juvenile plaice, by describing how they respond to shifts between three ...
Kelman, Emma J +2 more
core +2 more sources
Incubating parents serve as visual cues to predators in Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus).
PLoS ONE, 2020 Ground-nesting birds face many challenges to reproduce successfully, with nest predation being the main cause of reproductive failure. Visual predators such as corvids and egg-eating raptors, are among the most common causes of nest failure; thus ...
Noémie Engel +4 more
doaj +1 more source
A Quantitative Test of the Predicted Relationship between Countershading and Lighting Environment [PDF]
, 2012 Countershading, a vertical luminance gradient from a dark back to a light belly, is perhaps the most common coloration phenotype in the animal kingdom. Why?
Allen, Will L +3 more
core +2 more sources