Individuals from different-looking animal species may group together to confuse shared predators: simulations with artificial neural networks.

ABSTRACT: Individuals of many quite distantly related animal species find each other attractive and stay together for long periods in groups. We present a mechanism for mixed-species grouping in which individuals from different-looking prey species come together because the appearance of the mixed-species group is visually confusing to shared predators. Using an artificial neural network model of retinotopic mapping in predators, we train networks on random projections of single- and mixed-species prey groups and then test the ability of networks to reconstruct individual prey items from mixed-species groups in a retinotopic map. Over the majority of parameter space, cryptic prey items benefit from association with conspicuous prey because this particular visual combination worsens predator targetin

SUBMITTER: Tosh CR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2093981 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature