Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predator-Prey Interactions

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.

Fixed Action Patterns

Fixed Action Patterns

A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.

Types of Selection

Types of Selection

Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Modest effects of light on the temporal dynamics of mouse social behaviors.

Physiology & behavior·2026

Same author

Extracts from Cordyceps cicadae and Hericium erinaceus promote the neurite outgrowth of retinal ganglion cells.

PloS one·2026

Same author

Prolonged Light Exposure Induces Long-Lasting Retinal Wave Plasticity via Retrograde Melanopsin-Dopamine Signaling.

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience·2025

Same author

Magnetically guided neurite outgrowth modulated by PIEZO1 in hiPSC-derived retinal ganglion cells.

Materials today. Bio·2025

Same author

Octopus arm flexibility facilitates complex behaviors in diverse natural environments.

Scientific reports·2025

Same author

Gradient refractive indices enable squid structural color and inspire multispectral materials.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2025

Same journal

Computational and mathematical models in vision: Quantitative approaches to understanding visual perception.

Vision research·2026

Same journal

Complex interactions between lightness, chroma, and hue in color ensemble perception.

Vision research·2026

Same journal

Driving with autism spectrum disorder: Exploring the impact of tactile hazard warnings on gaze behavior and hazard responses.

Vision research·2026

Same journal

Early visual processing in adults with ADHD: evidence from contrast sensitivity, spatial integration, and external noise.

Vision research·2026

Same journal

Pupil reflexes generate the peripheral drift illusion due to ON/OFF motion responses.

Vision research·2026

Same journal

Perceived direction of glass patterns can flip by 90°: A neural model.

Vision research·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 13, 2026

A Method for Extracting Pigments from Squid Doryteuthis pealeii

A Method for Extracting Pigments from Squid Doryteuthis pealeii

Published on: November 9, 2016

How visual edge features influence cuttlefish camouflage patterning.

Chuan-Chin Chiao¹, Kimberly M Ulmer, Liese A Siemann

¹Program in Sensory Physiology & Behavior, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA, USA. ccchiao@life.nthu.edu.tw

Vision Research

|March 19, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cuttlefish use rapid adaptive camouflage, with body patterns influenced by visual edges. This study reveals that edge fragments, unlike continuous edges, trigger stronger patterns, with contrast affecting different skin components.

More Related Videos

Visualization of Caenorhabditis elegans Cuticular Structures Using the Lipophilic Vital Dye DiI

Visualization of Caenorhabditis elegans Cuticular Structures Using the Lipophilic Vital Dye DiI

Published on: January 30, 2012

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 13, 2026

A Method for Extracting Pigments from Squid Doryteuthis pealeii

A Method for Extracting Pigments from Squid Doryteuthis pealeii

Published on: November 9, 2016

Visualization of Caenorhabditis elegans Cuticular Structures Using the Lipophilic Vital Dye DiI

Visualization of Caenorhabditis elegans Cuticular Structures Using the Lipophilic Vital Dye DiI

Published on: January 30, 2012

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

Area of Science:

Marine Biology
Animal Behavior
Vision Science

Background:

Cuttlefish exhibit rapid adaptive camouflage, a key defense mechanism.
Previous research indicates substrate visual edges significantly influence cuttlefish patterning.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how cuttlefish body patterning is differentially controlled by edge characteristics.
To analyze the roles of contrast polarity, contrast strength, and line terminators in pattern formation.

Main Methods:

Utilized spatially filtered white/black disks and isolated edges varying in contrast.
Assessed activation of cuttlefish skin components in response to visual stimuli.
Manipulated continuous and fragmented edges to introduce line terminators.

Main Results:

Both white and black disks elicited disruptive patterns, with distinct skin component activation.
High-frequency information alone drove white disk responses; both high- and low-frequency were needed for black disks.
High-contrast edge fragments produced stronger patterns than low-contrast fragments, unlike continuous edges.

Conclusions:

Line terminators and continuous edges differentially influence disruptive body pattern expression.
Contrast strength and frequency information modulate cuttlefish camouflage responses in distinct ways.