Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK.
Biol Lett. 2011 Jun 23;7(3):330-2. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2010.0761. Epub 2010 Oct 27.
Animals titrate their behaviour against the level of risk and an individual's conspicuousness should influence decisions such as when to flee and for how long to hide. Conspicuousness will vary with variation in substrate colour. Since hermit crabs frequently change the shells they occupy, shell colour will also influence conspicuousness and to be aware of their conspicuousness would require information on both of these factors to be integrated. Reduced boldness in high-contrast shell and substrate combinations compared with situations of low contrast indicates that hermit crabs are aware of current conspicuousness. Differences between individuals remained consistent across conspicuousness levels indicating the presence of animal personalities.
动物会根据风险水平调整自己的行为，而个体的显眼程度应该会影响诸如何时逃跑以及躲藏多长时间等决策。显眼程度会随著基质颜色的变化而变化。由于寄居蟹经常更换它们所占据的壳，壳的颜色也会影响显眼程度，要意识到自己的显眼程度，就需要整合这两个因素的信息。与低对比度的情况相比，在高对比度的壳和基质组合中，寄居蟹的大胆程度降低，这表明它们意识到了自己当前的显眼程度。不同个体在显眼程度水平上的差异保持一致，表明存在动物个性。
