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Jolyon Troscianko1, Ossi Nokelainen2, John Skelhorn3

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Predator search image formation is hindered by prey color pattern variation. Disruptive camouflage patterns were most effective, maintaining animal phenotypic diversity.

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Ecology
  • Animal behavior

Background:

  • Phenotypic variation is crucial for species survival, but its maintenance is not fully understood.
  • Frequency-dependent selection, driven by predator search image formation, is a proposed mechanism.
  • Previous studies lacked real prey patterns and diverse camouflage types.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how prey color pattern variation and camouflage influence predator search image formation.
  • To test the role of disruptive coloration in predator-prey dynamics.
  • To provide evidence for a mechanism maintaining phenotypic diversity.

Main Methods:

  • A citizen science computer experiment simulating predator-prey interactions.
  • Presentation of virtual crab prey with varying color patterns (morphs) against natural backgrounds.
  • Analysis of human "predator" detection rates and search image formation.

Main Results:

  • Switching between prey morphs significantly hindered predator detection.
  • Disruptive camouflage patterns, which break up the prey's body outline, were most effective at impeding search image formation.
  • This study provides the first evidence of natural color pattern variability hindering predator learning.

Conclusions:

  • Phenotypic variation in prey color patterns can disrupt predator search image formation, thus facilitating its maintenance.
  • Disruptive camouflage plays a key role in predator-prey interactions and the evolution of diversity.
  • This mechanism offers a novel explanation for the persistence of multiple morphs in natural populations.