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Stephanie Yakoff

Educere Biology Honors Course

Educere

15 March 2020

Camouflage Mechanisms in the Environment

According to ​National Geographic​, "Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a

defense mechanism or tactic that organisms use to disguise their appearance, usually to blend in

with t8heir surroundings. Organisms use camouflage to mask their location, identity, and

movement." The majority of camouflage techniques strive for crypsis, often through a prevailing

similarity to the environment- high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and

countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of

camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, along with the aptitude to generate

light known as counter-illumination. Some animals, such as chameleons, cuttlefish, and

seahorses, are extremely efficient in changing their skin colors, whether for camouflage or

signaling for mates. It is also likely that some species of plants use camouflage to avoid being

consumed by predators. In addition to this, there are trace remains of certain insects using

camouflage methods from hundreds of millions of years ago. For instance, lacewings larvae were

able to cover themselves in debris, just like their modern descendants can, concealing them from

their predators and prey. Dinosaurs also seem to have used a variety of camouflage techniques.

For example, a 120 million-year-old fossil of a psittacosaurus was preserved with its skin that

displayed countershading. It had a lighter underside and darker back that would lessen its

visibility from certain viewpoints. While some may argue that a predator still sense’s an animals’
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coordinates through echolocation, camouflage is greatly beneficial to an animals’ survival

because it masks an animals' identity, movement, and actions through various techniques such as

defensive mimicry, concealing coloration, and disguise.

The Oxford Dictionary states that mimicry is "the close external resemblance of an

animal or plant (or part of one) to another animal, plant, or inanimate object." There are several

types of defensive mimicry, for example- Batesian mimicry and Müllerian mimicry. Batesian

mimicry was named after Henry Walter Bates, an English naturalist who worked on butterflies in

the Amazon Rainforest. According to ​

resemblance in which a noxious, or dangerous, organism (the model), equipped with a warning

system such as conspicuous coloration, is mimicked by a harmless organism (the mimic)." By

imitating a dangerous species, the mimic accumulates protection from the predator. Another type

of mimicry is Müllerian mimicry. According to ​study.com​, "Müllerian mimicry occurs in nature

when two or more harmful species look very similar in order to ward off potential predators.

This is very advantageous to animals as a means of protection. If animals that resemble one

another are all known to be poisonous or dangerous, they will have a significant advantage

because predators will quickly learn to avoid them." Both species may have diverse predators but

when confronted with any of the species, the predator learns to evade both of them. An example

would be the Poison Arrow frogs of South America which display bright colors against black

patterns, comparable to the Mantella frogs of Madagascar. According to ​seaworld.org​, "Most

Mantellas have the same toxins found in the South American poison dart frogs. In fact, when

explorers first saw Mantella frogs they thought they were South American poison dart frogs, but

they are only distant relatives... Several species of Mantella frogs are non-poisonous, but exhibit
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protective mimicry. By exhibiting the bright colors of the toxic species, they are avoided by

predators."

Concealing coloration is the use of coloration to hide an animal's location, identity, and

actions, along with protection from predators and cover from prey. Background matching is

known as a type of camouflage in which an animal or plant escapes recognition by matching

with its environment in color, form, movement, or pattern. An example of concealing coloration

would be the color of a snowshoe hare or polar bear fur in the winter. Their white coat would

blend in with the snowy background around them, primarily in Antarctica. Blending in with their

environments greatly aids a polar bear in catching its prey and a snowshoe hare in avoiding its

predators. Concealing coloration camouflage is one of the many reasons why many animals

dwelling in the Arctic are white, while many animals dwelling in woods are brown, such as deer

and chipmunks. According to ​oakdome.com​, "Adult white-tail deer have reddish-brown coats in

summer which fade to a duller grayish-brown in winter. Their earth tone colors help keep them

hidden from predators."

Disguise camouflage is when animals blend in with their surroundings by mirroring an

object. An example would be the Uroplatus Gecko. ​cbc.ca​states, "This species lives deep in the

Madagascar jungle and comes in two different varieties: some look like leaves while others look

like tree bark. The tree bark variety have also developed a flap of skin that runs along the length

of their bodies. This allows the Uroplatus gecko to lay completely flat against a tree, making

their outline practically invisible." In camouflaging themselves in something unuseful or

unnecessary such as a twig or leaf, these animals are viewed over by predators who confuse them

for something else or hardly regard them at all. Another example of disguise camouflage would
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be the orchid mantis. ​cbc.ca​states, "The orchid mantis might look like a beautiful rainforest

flower but it’s really an insect, and a carnivorous hunter at that! The flowery camouflage actually

helps attract small flies who unknowingly land on the orchid mantis, where it’s waiting to catch

and eat them." In this case, the orchid mantis is viewed upon as a flower that leads innocent

insects to their inevitable deaths.

Camouflage has been a subject of curiosity and investigation in zoology for centuries. In

the 1800s, ship camouflage was used in ancient times for disguise against enemies. Some

military ships would be painted blueish-green and grey adjacent to the matching hues of the

water. In the 1900s, the growth of military camouflage was motivated by the widening scope and

efficiency of the soldier firearms. For example, the substitution of the musket with the Baker

rifle made individual concealment in battles crucial. Game hunters have also made use of

camouflage in various forms of materials such as animal skins, mud and dirt, foliage, and

different paint colors. Camouflage is also occasionally used to make architectural structures less

noticeable. For example- some areas would disguise telephone towers as large brown and green

trees by using paint and plastic branches. In conclusion, camouflage is shown all around us,

whether it is visibly noticeable, or if it is almost invisible to the naked eye. Camouflage greatly

increases and animals’ chance of survival than those who do not use camouflage because it

conceals their location, movement, and previous actions.

Work Cited

National Geographic Society. “Camouflage.” ​National Geographic Society​, 9 Oct. 2012,

www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/camouflage/

Vassen, Frank, and Frupus. “5 Animal Masters of Disguise | CBC Kids.” ​CBCnews​, CBC/Radio

Canada, 0AD, ​www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/5-animal-masters-of-disguise

“Animals Camouflage Pictures and Information for Kids.” ​K5 Computer Lab​, 0AD,

oakdome.com/k5/lesson-plans/powerpoint/animal-camouflage-pictures-and-information.php

n/a. “Mantella Frog.” ​SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment,​

seaworld.org/animals/facts/amphibians/mantella-frogs/

Enzor, Laura. “Batesian Mimicry: Examples & Definition.” ​Study.com​, Study.com, 0AD,

study.com/academy/lesson/mullerian-mimicry-definition-examples-quiz.html

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Batesian Mimicry.” ​Encyclopædia Britannica,​

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13 Oct. 2011, ​www.britannica.com/science/Batesian-mimicry

“Mimicry: Definition of Mimicry by Lexico.” ​Lexico Dictionaries | English​, Lexico

Dictionaries, ​www.lexico.com/en/definition/mimicry
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