Infrared camouflage in leaf-sitting frogs: a cautionary tale on adaptive convergence DOI Creative Commons
Devi Stuart‐Fox, Katrina J. Rankin, Monique Scott

et al.

Journal of The Royal Society Interface, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 22(225)

Published: April 1, 2025

Many cryptic green animals match leaves in invisible near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. This observation is an enduring puzzle because do not see NIR light, so background matching unlikely to contribute visual camouflage. Two alternative explanations have been proposed—infrared camouflage (i.e. the temperature of background) and thermoregulation—but neither hypothesis has experimentally tested. To test these hypotheses, we developed bilayer coatings that mimicked reflectivity leaf-sitting frogs with high (HNIR) or low (LNIR) reflectance. Under a solar simulator laboratory, agar model LNIR reflectance heated up more quickly reached higher temperatures than those HNIR However, when placed tropical rainforest (natural habitat frogs), models did significantly differ similarity surface adjacent core temperature, thus failing support infrared thermoregulation respectively. The lack difference between treatments probably due limited exposure direct radiation their natural habitats. We propose explanation for based on specific mechanisms underlying coloration translucence caution against assuming adaptive convergence.

Language: Английский

Infrared camouflage in leaf-sitting frogs: a cautionary tale on adaptive convergence DOI Creative Commons
Devi Stuart‐Fox, Katrina J. Rankin, Monique Scott

et al.

Journal of The Royal Society Interface, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 22(225)

Published: April 1, 2025

Many cryptic green animals match leaves in invisible near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths. This observation is an enduring puzzle because do not see NIR light, so background matching unlikely to contribute visual camouflage. Two alternative explanations have been proposed—infrared camouflage (i.e. the temperature of background) and thermoregulation—but neither hypothesis has experimentally tested. To test these hypotheses, we developed bilayer coatings that mimicked reflectivity leaf-sitting frogs with high (HNIR) or low (LNIR) reflectance. Under a solar simulator laboratory, agar model LNIR reflectance heated up more quickly reached higher temperatures than those HNIR However, when placed tropical rainforest (natural habitat frogs), models did significantly differ similarity surface adjacent core temperature, thus failing support infrared thermoregulation respectively. The lack difference between treatments probably due limited exposure direct radiation their natural habitats. We propose explanation for based on specific mechanisms underlying coloration translucence caution against assuming adaptive convergence.

Language: Английский

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