Ebook: Concealing coloration in animals

Color photographs extensively document the mind-boggling array of deceptive strategies animals use to blend in, mislead, or vanish from view.;Drawing on modern experimental evidence of the functional significance of animal color strategies, the authors offer illustrations of how the evolution of features in one organism can be driven by the psychology of others.;Predators have remarkable abilities to learn to discriminate the fake from the real.;Animals that resemble twigs, tree bark, stones, and seaweed may appear to be perfect imitations, but no concealment strategy is without flaws.;But color patterns can also conceal animals from detection.;But prey have their own range of defensive tactics, evolving multiple appearances or the ability to change color at will.;The book takes readers on a scientific adventure that explores creatures inside mats of floating seaweed, mice and lizards on desert rocks and sand, and rare parrots in the rainforest of New Zealand.;The biological functions of coloration in animals are sometimes surprising.;Color can attract mates, intimidate enemies, and distract predators.;Concealing coloration is unusual because it is an adaptation not only to the visual features of the environment but also to the perceptual and cognitive capabilities of other organisms.;Amid the clutter of the natural world, predators search for minute, telltale clues that will reveal the identity of their prey.