Are stripes beneficial? Dazzle camouflage influences perceived speed and hit rates.

ABSTRACT: In the animal kingdom, camouflage refers to patterns that help potential prey avoid detection. Mostly camouflage is thought of as helping prey blend in with their background. In contrast, disruptive or dazzle patterns protect moving targets and have been suggested as an evolutionary force in shaping the dorsal patterns of animals. Dazzle patterns, such as stripes and zigzags, are thought to reduce the probability with which moving prey will be captured by impairing predators' perception of speed. We investigated how different patterns of stripes (longitudinal-i.e., parallel to movement direction-and vertical-i.e., perpendicular to movement direction) affect the probability with which humans can hit moving objects and if differences in hitting probability are caused by a misperception of sp

SUBMITTER: von Helversen B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3634837 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature