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Camouflage and Clutch Survival in Plovers and Terns.
Stoddard, Mary Caswell; Kupán, Krisztina; Eyster, Harold N; Rojas-Abreu, Wendoly; Cruz-López, Medardo; Serrano-Meneses, Martín Alejandro; Küpper, Clemens.
Afiliação
  • Stoddard MC; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA.
  • Kupán K; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
  • Eyster HN; Institute of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
  • Rojas-Abreu W; Museum of Comparative Zoology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
  • Cruz-López M; Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla Km. 1.5, 90070, Tlaxcala, México.
  • Serrano-Meneses MA; Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Av. Joel Montes Camarena S/N, 82040, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México.
  • Küpper C; Laboratorio de Biología Evolutiva, Centro Tlaxcala de Biología de la Conducta, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Carretera Tlaxcala-Puebla Km. 1.5, 90070, Tlaxcala, México.
Sci Rep ; 6: 32059, 2016 09 12.
Article em En | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27616020
ABSTRACT
Animals achieve camouflage through a variety of mechanisms, of which background matching and disruptive coloration are likely the most common. Although many studies have investigated camouflage mechanisms using artificial stimuli and in lab experiments, less work has addressed camouflage in the wild. Here we examine egg camouflage in clutches laid by ground-nesting Snowy Plovers Charadrius nivosus and Least Terns Sternula antillarum breeding in mixed aggregations at Bahía de Ceuta, Sinaloa, Mexico. We obtained digital images of clutches laid by both species. We then calibrated the images and used custom computer software and edge detection algorithms to quantify measures related to three potential camouflage mechanisms pattern complexity matching, disruptive effects and background color matching. Based on our image analyses, Snowy Plover clutches, in general, appeared to be more camouflaged than Least Tern clutches. Snowy Plover clutches also survived better than Least Tern clutches. Unexpectedly, variation in clutch survival was not explained by any measure of egg camouflage in either species. We conclude that measures of egg camouflage are poor predictors of clutch survival in this population. The behavior of the incubating parents may also affect clutch predation. Determining the significance of egg camouflage requires further testing using visual models and behavioral experiments.
Assuntos

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Charadriiformes / Mimetismo Biológico Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies Limite: Animals Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2016 Tipo de documento: Article

Texto completo: 1 Coleções: 01-internacional Base de dados: MEDLINE Assunto principal: Charadriiformes / Mimetismo Biológico Tipo de estudo: Prognostic_studies Limite: Animals Idioma: En Ano de publicação: 2016 Tipo de documento: Article