Projects per year
Abstract
We review how animals conceal themselves in the face of the need to move, and how this is modulated by the dynamic components and rapidly varying illumination of natural backgrounds. We do so in a framework of minimising the viewer’s signal-tonoise ratio. Motion can match that of the observer such that there is no relative motion cue, or mimic that of background objects (e.g. swaying leaves). For group-living animals, matched motion and coloration is a special case of the latter ‘motion masquerade’, where each animal is a potential signal against the noise of other individuals. Recent research shows that dynamic illumination, such as underwater caustics or dappled forest shade, greatly impedes detection of moving targets, so may change the balance of predator-prey interactions.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 109-115 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences |
Volume | 30 |
Early online date | 18 Aug 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2019 |
Structured keywords
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Keywords
- spatial attention
- motion detection
- variable illumination
- visual noise
- motion camouflage
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Dive into the research topics of 'Camouflage in a dynamic world'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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The Camouflage machine: optimising patterns for camouflage and visibility
Scott-Samuel, N. E., Cuthill, I. C., Baddeley, R. J., Talas, L. & Fennell, J. G.
1/06/15 → 31/05/18
Project: Research