The role of color in high-level vision
Traditional theories of object recognition have emphasized the role of shape information in high-level vision. However, the accumulating behavioral, neuroimaging and neuropsychological evidence indicates that the surface color of an object affects its recognition. In this article, we discuss the research that examines the conditions under which color influences the operations of high-level vision and […]
Ultraviolet signals in birds are special
Recent behavioural experiments have shown that birds use ultraviolet (UV)-reflective and fluorescent plumage as cues in mate choice. It remains controversial, however, whether such UV signals play a special role in sexual communication, or whether they are part of general plumage coloration. We use a comparative approach to test for a general association between sexual […]
Artificial colour treatment mediates aggression among unfamiliar vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops): a model for introducing primates with colourful sexual skin
Aggression and agonism typically accompany the initial interactions exchanged between unfamiliar primates. As a part of a larger study examining the social function of scrotal colour in vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops sabaeus), this paper offers experimental data to show how scrotal colour can influence aggression, and how artificial colour treatment can be used as an […]
Studies on UV reflection in feathers of some 1000 bird species: are UV peaks in feathers correlated with violet-sensitive and ultraviolet-sensitive cones?
Nine hundred and sixty-eight bird species, covering all orders, were studied in search of distinctive ultraviolet reflections. All species in the following orders were completely surveyed: Struthioniformes, Tinamiformes, Craciformes, Turniciformes, Galbuliformes, Upupiformes, Coliiformes, Apodiformes and Musophagiformes. The coloured plumage regions in particular exhibited high proportions of UV-reflecting feathers. Bird orders with species which are believed […]
High sensitivity to short wavelengths in a lizard and implications for understanding the evolution of visual systems in lizards
Progress in developing animal communication theory is frequently constrained by a poor understanding of sensory systems. For example, while lizards have been the focus of numerous studies in visual signalling, we only have data on the spectral sensitivities of a few species clustered in two major clades (Iguania and Gekkota). Using electroretinography and microspectrophotometry, we […]
The Ecology of Color Vision
Colour vision in man is well understood, but for obvious experimental reasons it is less so in the case of other animals. Some evidentally have a three-colour system similar to our own but based on different primary colours. In particular, some are sensitive to ultraviolet light, which the human eye is not.
Mutual Mate Choice for Colorful Traits in King Penguins
While studies of mate choice based on male color pattern are ubiquitous, studies of mate choice based on ornamental color traits in sexually monomorphic species are less common. We conducted manipulative field experiments on two color ornaments of king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus), the size of auricular patches of orange feathers and degree of UV reflectance […]
Do coral reef fish learn to avoid unpalatable prey using visual cues?
Colour and pattern provide important visual cues that affect animal behaviour. Learned avoidance of unpalatable prey by coral reef fish in response to visual cues has been studied before, but visual cues have not been separated from distastefulness to make certain that fish were learning solely in response to visual signals. Here, we used artificial […]
Effects of early social isolation on the behaviour and performance of juvenile lizards, Chamaeleo calyptratus
Although reptiles have traditionally been viewed as asocial, the recent discovery of complex social systems in lizards suggests that an animal’s social behaviour may be shaped by its interactions with conspecifics early in life, as occurs in endothermic vertebrates. We reared hatchling veiled chameleons, Chamaeleo calyptratus, either in isolation or in groups of four, using […]