Projects per year
Abstract
Poison dart frogs provide classic examples of warning signals: potent toxins signaled by distinctive, conspicuous coloration. We show that, counterintuitively, the bright yellow and blue-black color of Dendrobates tinctorius (Dendrobatidae) also provides camouflage. Through computational modeling of predator vision, and a screen-based detection experiment presenting frogs at different spatial resolutions, we demonstrate that at close range the frog is highly detectable, but from a distance the colors blend together, forming effective camouflage. This result was corroborated with an in situ experiment, which found survival to be background-dependent, a feature more associated with camouflage than aposematism. Our results suggest that in D. tinctorius the distribution of pattern elements, and the particular colors expressed, act as a highly salient close range aposematic signal, while simultaneously minimizing detectability to distant observers.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 201800826 |
Pages (from-to) | 6416-6421 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 115 |
Issue number | 25 |
Early online date | 4 Jun 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 19 Jun 2018 |
Research Groups and Themes
- Cognitive Science
- Visual Perception
Keywords
- acuity
- aposematism
- camouflage
- Dendrobatidae
- distance
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Distance-dependent defensive coloration in the poison frog Dendrobates tinctorius, Dendrobatidae'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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What makes an effective warning signal?
Cuthill, I. C. (Principal Investigator)
1/04/16 → 31/03/19
Project: Research
Profiles
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Professor Innes C Cuthill
- Cabot Institute for the Environment
- Bristol Vision Institute
- Bristol Neuroscience
- School of Biological Sciences - Professor of Behavioural Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Animal Behaviour and Sensory Biology
Person: Academic , Member
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Professor Nicholas E Scott-Samuel
- School of Psychological Science - Professor of Experimental Psychology
- Bristol Vision Institute
- Bristol Neuroscience
Person: Academic , Member