YouTube video by Jolyon Troscianko

Many snakes have bold colour patterns, but how do habitat and viewing conditions change their functions? We found that zigzag and spot patterns can disrupt

Visual camouflage evolution in animals depends on both light’s interaction with its surroundings and the limits of what the natural observers of the camouflage can see. Changes in lighting – such as t...

By mimicking the warning colours of animals that ward off birds, we can produce wind turbine patterns to which birds are averse, reducing the likelihood of

We found that in halfbeaks, a shoaling fish species, males preferentially associated with an opposite sex pair (i.e., a female and a male) over rival males, but showed no preference when choosing bet....

Abstract. Many predators aim to approach prey without being detected or identified. Ambush predators often achieve this through camouflage, such as backgro

Caterpillars (larval Lepidoptera) are one of the most ecologically and evolutionarily significant taxa on Earth. As both feeders and food, they shape the dynamics of enumerate ecosystems on land. Key ...

Abstract. Iris color is a conspicuous and diverse trait across animals, but its evolutionary drivers are poorly understood. In over 1000 species of Tyranni

The evolution of complex adaptations often involves synergistic changes in multiple traits that lack standalone function. This study shows that leaf masquerade in katydids evolved through concurrent m...

The link between form and function of an organism’s morphology is usually apparent or intuitive. However, some clades of organisms show remarkable ...

Predators can have different color morphs, but whether morph abundance or saliency is more influential in shaping antipredator behavior in prey remains unc

Many animals rely on deception, including signalling misinformation, to gain advantages over others. While many deceptive strategies rely on deterministic patterns or conditioning, some taxa can flexi...

European rabbits use their white tails to warn others of danger and ward off predators, revealing the dual function of a single animal signalling behaviour. Using both field observations and phylogen....

Birds have an excellent ability to learn to discriminate harmless insects from those that they mimic on the basis of subtle differences in appearance.

While in humans, background motion can disrupt the detection of visual cues even after the moving background component has ceased, it remains unknown whether natural forms of background motion might ...

Conservation strategies seek to ensure that populations persist and are resilient to environmental change. As learning from others can shape the development of skills that help animals survive, reproduce and respond to changing conditions, understanding ...