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188 results for “conspicuousness”
Data for: Experimental infections with Euhaplorchis californiensis and a small cyathocotylid increase conspicuous behaviors in California killifish (Fundulus parvipinnis)
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Dynamic visual effects enhance flower conspicuousness but compromise colour perception
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Data from: Orchid trade at the source: Epiphytic species with conspicuous flowers in low-elevation forests are more locally collected in a Philippine key biodiversity area
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Data from: The evolution of darter color and pattern: Small, rocky streams and riffles enhance the diversification of bright and conspicuous fishes
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Conspicuous coloration of toxin-resistant predators implicates additional trophic interactions in a predator-prey arms race
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Linking shape conspicuous asymmetry with shape covariation patterns and performance in the insect head and mandibles
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Data from: Camouflage, conspicuousness, and inducible color change in a polymorphic, sexually dichromatic frog
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The evolution of conspicuousness in frogs: when to signal toxicity?
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Data from: Conspicuous stripes on prey capture attention and reduce attacks by foraging jumping spiders
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Conspicuous animal signals avoid the cost of predation by being intermittent or novel: confirmation in the wild using hundreds of robotic prey
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Data from: Correlated evolution of conspicuous coloration and burrowing in crayfish
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Data for: Mobbing for matings: dynamics, plumage correlates, and fitness impacts of conspicuous group extra-pair behaviors in the lark bunting
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Does conspicuousness scale linearly with colour distance? a test using reef fish
<p><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>To be effective, animal colour signals must attract attention – and therefore need to be conspicuous. To understand signal function, it is useful to evaluate their conspicuousness to relevant viewers under various environmental conditions, including when visual scenes are cluttered by objects of varying colour. A widely used metric of colour difference (ΔS) is based on the Receptor Noise Limited (RNL) model, which was originally proposed to determine when two similar colours appear different from one another, termed the discrimination threshold (or JND, just noticeable difference). Estimates of the perceptual distances between colours that exceed this threshold – termed 'suprathreshold' colour differences – often assumes that a colour's conspicuousness scales linearly with colour distance, and that this scale is independent of direction in colour space. Currently, there is little behavioural evidence to support these assumptions. This study evaluated the relationship between ΔS and conspicuousness in suprathreshold colours using an Ishihara-style test with a coral reef fish, <i>Rhinecanthus aculeatus</i>. As our measure of conspicuousness, we tested whether fish, when presented with two colourful targets, preferred to peck at the one with a greater ΔS from the average distractor colour. We found the relationship between ΔS and conspicuousness followed a sigmoidal function, with high ΔS colours perceived as equally conspicuous. We found that the relationship between ΔS and conspicuousness varied across colour space (i.e. for different hues). The sigmoidal detectability curve was little affected by colour variation in the background or when colour distance was calculated using a model that does not correct for receptor noise. These results suggest that the RNL model may provide accurate estimates for perceptual distance for small suprathreshold distance colours, even in complex viewing environments, but must be used with caution with perceptual distances exceeding 10 ΔS.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></p>
Data from: Conspicuous plumage does not increase predation risk: a continent-wide test using model songbirds
The forces shaping female plumage color have long been debated but remain unresolved. Females may benefit from conspicuous colors but are also expected to suffer costs. Predation is one potential cost, but few studies have explicitly investigated the relationship between predation risk and coloration. The fairy-wrens show pronounced variation in female coloration and reside in a wide variety of habitats across Australasia. Species with more conspicuous females are found in denser habitats, suggesting that conspicuousness in open habitat increases vulnerability to predators. To test this, we measured attack rates on 3D printed models mimicking conspicuously colored males and females, and dull females, in eight different fairy-wren habitats across Australia. Attack rates were higher in open habitats, and at higher latitudes. Contrary to our predictions, dull female models were attacked at similar rates to the conspicuous models. Further, the probability of attack in open habitats increased more for both types of female model than for the conspicuous male model. Across models, the degree of contrast (chromatic and achromatic) to environmental backgrounds was unrelated to predation rate. These findings do not support the long-standing hypothesis that conspicuous plumage, in isolation, is costly due to increased attraction of predators. Our results indicate that conspicuousness interacts with other factors in driving the evolution of plumage coloration.
Evolution of a conspicuous melanin-based ornament in gulls Laridae
<p>Melanin- and carotenoid-based ornaments often signal different aspects of individual quality or similar aspects under different environmental conditions and, thus, they may become evolutionarily integrated into a composite sexual trait. On the other hand, functionally and developmentally different characters (e.g. coloration characters of different developmental origin) are more likely to evolve independently from each other than more similar traits. Here, we examined evolutionary correlations between the occurrence of a conspicuous melanin-based ornament (hood) and carotenoid-based bare-part ornaments within gull family. We also aimed to identify major ecological, life-history, and biogeographical predictors of hood occurrence and reconstruct evolutionary history of this ornament. We found that hood occurrence was associated with red or dark coloration of unfeathered traits (bill and legs), while combinations of hood with yellow carotenoid-based coloration of integument were evolutionarily avoided. Also, hood occurrence correlated negatively with the occurrence of other melanin-based plumage character (mantle). Breeding latitude and habitat were identified as major predictors of hood occurrence in gulls, as hoods were recorded more frequently in low-latitude and inland (rather than marine) species. Finally, our analysis provided support for evolutionary lability in hood occurrence, with a dominance of transitions towards hood loss in the evolutionary history of gulls. The results of our study provide one of the first evidence for a correlated evolution of melanin- and carotenoid-based ornaments in an avian lineage, which supports evolutionary modularity of developmentally and functionally different coloration traits.</p>
Data from: Conspicuous female ornamentation and tests of male mate preference in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on female coloration has been little studied. Using sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, we examined male mate preferences for female throat color, as well as pelvic spine color and standard length, using wild-captured threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In a multivariate analysis, we found no evidence for a population-level mate preference in males, suggesting the absence of directional sexual selection on these traits arising from male mate choice. Significant variation was detected among males in their preference functions, but this appeared to arise from differences in their mean responsiveness across mating trials and not from variation in the strength (i.e., slope) of their preference, suggesting the absence of individual-level preferences as well. When presented with conspecific intruder males, male response decreased as intruder red throat coloration increased, suggesting that males can discriminate color and other aspects of phenotype in our experiment and that males may use these traits in intrasexual interactions. The results presented here are the first to explicitly address male preference for female throat color in threespine sticklebacks.
Data from: Local adaptation and divergence in colour signal conspicuousness between monomorphic and polymorphic lineages in a lizard
Population differences in visual environment can lead to divergence in multiple components of animal coloration including signalling traits and colour patterns important for camouflage. Divergence may reflect selection imposed by different receivers (conspecifics, predators), which depends in turn on the location of the colour patch. We tested for local adaptation of two genetically and phenotypically divergent lineages of a rock-inhabiting lizard, Ctenophorus decresii, by comparing the visual contrast of colour patches to different receivers in native and non-native environments. The lineages differ most notably in male throat coloration, which is polymorphic in the northern lineage and monomorphic in the southern lineage, but also differ in dorsal and lateral coloration, which is visible to both conspecifics and potential predators. Using models of animal colour vision, we assessed whether lineage-specific throat, dorsal and lateral coloration enhanced conspicuousness to conspecifics, increased crypsis to birds or both, respectively, when viewed against the predominant backgrounds from each lineage. Throat colours were no more conspicuous against native than non-native rock but contrasted more strongly with native lichen, which occurs patchily on rocks inhabited by C. decresii. Conversely, neck coloration (lateral) more closely matched native lichen. Furthermore, although dorsal coloration of southern males was consistently more conspicuous to birds than that of northern males, both lineages had similar absolute conspicuousness against their native backgrounds. Combined, our results are consistent with local adaptation of multiple colour traits in relation to multiple receivers, suggesting that geographic variation in background colour has influenced the evolution of lineage-specific coloration in C. decresii.
Data from: Predator perception of Batesian mimicry and conspicuousness in a salamander
In Batesian mimicry a palatable mimic deceives predators by resembling an unpalatable model. The evolution of Batesian mimicry relies on the visual capabilities of the potential predators, as prey detection provides the selective force driving evolutionary change. We compared the visual capabilities of several potential predators to test predictions stemming from the hypothesis of Batesian mimicry between two salamanders: the model species Notophthalmus viridescens, and polymorphic mimic, Plethodon cinereus. First, we found mimicry to be restricted to coloration, but not brightness. Second, only bird predators appeared able to discriminate between the colors of models and non-mimic P. cinereus. Third, estimates of salamander conspicuousness were background-dependent, corresponding to predictions only for backgrounds against which salamanders are most active. These results support the hypothesis that birds influence the evolution of Batesian mimicry in P. cinereus, as they are the only group examined capable of differentiating N. viridescens and non-mimetic P. cinereus. Additionally, patterns of conspicuousness suggest that selection from predators may drive the evolution of conspicuousness in this system. This study confirms the expectation that the visual abilities of predators may influence the evolution of Batesian mimicry, but the role of conspicuousness may be more complex than previously thought.
Data from: Batesian mimics influence the evolution of conspicuousness in an aposematic salamander
Conspicuousness, or having high contrast relative to the surrounding background, is a common feature of unpalatable species. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the occurrence of conspicuousness, and while most involve the role of conspicuousness as a direct signal of unpalatability to potential predators, one hypothesis suggests that exaggerated conspicuousness may evolve in unpalatable species to reduce predator confusion with palatable species (potential Batesian mimics). This hypothesis of antagonistic coevolution between palatable and unpalatable species hinges on the 'cost of conspicuousness,' in which conspicuousness increases the likelihood of predation more in palatable species than in unpalatable species. Under this mimicry scenario four patterns are expected: 1) mimics will more closely resemble local models than models from other localities, 2) there will be a positive relationship between mimic and model conspicuousness, 3) models will be more conspicuous in the presence of mimics, and 4) when models and mimics differ in conspicuousness, mimics will be less conspicuous than models. We tested these predictions in the salamander mimicry system involving Notophthalmus viridescens (model) and one color morph of Plethodon cinereus (mimic). All predictions were supported, indicating that selection for Batesian mimicry not only influences the evolution of mimics, but also the evolution of the models they resemble. These findings indicate that mimicry plays a large role in the evolution of model warning signals, particularly influencing the evolution of conspicuousness.
Data from: What explains rare and conspicuous colours in a snail? A test of time-series data against models of drift, migration or selection
It is intriguing that conspicuous colour morphs of a prey species may be maintained at low frequencies alongside cryptic morphs. Negative frequency-dependent selection by predators using search images ('apostatic selection') is often suggested without rejecting alternative explanations. Using a maximum likelihood approach we fitted predictions from models of genetic drift, migration, constant selection, heterozygote advantage or negative frequency-dependent selection to time-series data of colour frequencies in isolated populations of a marine snail (Littorina saxatilis), re-established with perturbed colour morph frequencies and followed for >20 generations. Snails of conspicuous colours (white, red, banded) are naturally rare in the study area (usually <10%) but frequencies were manipulated to levels of ~50% (one colour per population) in 8 populations at the start of the experiment in 1992. In 2013, frequencies had declined to ~15–45%. Drift alone could not explain these changes. Migration could not be rejected in any population, but required rates much higher than those recorded. Directional selection was rejected in three populations in favour of balancing selection. Heterozygote advantage and negative frequency-dependent selection could not be distinguished statistically, although overall the results favoured the latter. Populations varied idiosyncratically as mild or variable colour selection (3–11%) interacted with demographic stochasticity, and the overall conclusion was that multiple mechanisms may contribute to maintaining the polymorphisms.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
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