Marine Biological Laboratory, 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2010 Apr 7;277(1684):1031-9. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1694. Epub 2009 Dec 2.
Prey camouflage is an evolutionary response to predation pressure. Cephalopods have extensive camouflage capabilities and studying them can offer insight into effective camouflage design. Here, we examine whether cuttlefish, Sepia officinalis, show substrate or camouflage pattern preferences. In the first two experiments, cuttlefish were presented with a choice between different artificial substrates or between different natural substrates. First, the ability of cuttlefish to show substrate preference on artificial and natural substrates was established. Next, cuttlefish were offered substrates known to evoke three main camouflage body pattern types these animals show: Uniform or Mottle (function by background matching); or Disruptive. In a third experiment, cuttlefish were presented with conflicting visual cues on their left and right sides to assess their camouflage response. Given a choice between substrates they might encounter in nature, we found no strong substrate preference except when cuttlefish could bury themselves. Additionally, cuttlefish responded to conflicting visual cues with mixed body patterns in both the substrate preference and split substrate experiments. These results suggest that differences in energy costs for different camouflage body patterns may be minor and that pattern mixing and symmetry may play important roles in camouflage.
猎物伪装是对捕食压力的一种进化反应。头足类动物具有广泛的伪装能力，研究它们可以深入了解有效的伪装设计。在这里，我们研究了乌贼（Sepia officinalis）是否表现出对基底或伪装图案的偏好。在前两个实验中，乌贼可以在不同的人工基底或不同的自然基底之间进行选择。首先，确定了乌贼在人工和自然基底上表现出基底偏好的能力。接下来，向乌贼提供了已知会引起这三种主要伪装身体图案类型的基底：均匀或斑点（通过背景匹配起作用）；或破坏。在第三个实验中，向乌贼的左右两侧呈现相互冲突的视觉线索，以评估它们的伪装反应。在可以选择在自然界中遇到的基底的情况下，我们除了乌贼可以藏身的情况外，没有发现强烈的基底偏好。此外，在基底偏好和分裂基底实验中，乌贼对相互冲突的视觉线索做出了混合身体图案的反应。这些结果表明，不同伪装身体图案的能量成本差异可能较小，并且图案混合和对称可能在伪装中发挥重要作用。
