ArticlePloS one2014
Camouflage and individual variation in shore crabs (Carcinus maenas) from different habitats.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed.
- Color change, background choice, and camouflage in a nocturnal treefrog: implications for circadian adaptation.Zoological research · 2026Article
- The pangenome ofiScience · 2026Article
- Olfactory Cues in the Odour Plume of Predatory Fish Reduce Foraging and Elicit Anti-Predator Behaviour in the European Green CrabAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Genome-wide identification of the crustacyanin gene family in Neocaridina denticulata sinensis based on comparative genomics and localization analysis.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Flap-necked chameleons change colour to match their background.Biology letters · 2025Article
- Article
- Intrapopulation variability in coloration is associated with reproductive season in the crayfishCurrent zoology · 2025Article
- Environmental Gradients in Lizard Colouration.Ecology and evolution · 2025Article
- Article
- Role of body size and shape in animal camouflage.Ecology and evolution · 2024Review
- Scorpionfish adjust skin pattern contrast on different backgrounds.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Background matching through fast and reversible melanin-based pigmentation plasticity in tadpoles comes with morphological and antioxidant changes.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Camouflaged plants are shorter than non-camouflaged plants in the alpine zone.Biology letters · 2023Article
- Doors to the Homes: Signal Potential of Red Coloration of Claws in Social Hermit Crabs.Integrative organismal biology (Oxford, England) · 2023Article
- Generalist camouflage can be more successful than microhabitat specialisation in natural environments.BMC ecology and evolution · 2021Article
- Variable crab camouflage patterns defeat search image formation.Communications biology · 2021Article
- A Crab Is Not a Fish: Unique Aspects of the Crustacean Endocrine System and Considerations for Endocrine Toxicology.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Review
- Finding a signal hidden among noise: how can predators overcome camouflage strategies?Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2020Review
- Background matching and disruptive coloration as habitat-specific strategies for camouflage.Scientific reports · 2019Article
- Imperfect camouflage: how to hide in a variable world?Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2019Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Camouflage is widespread throughout the natural world and conceals animals from predators in a vast range of habitats. Because successful camouflage usually involves matching aspects of the background environment, species and populations should evolve appearances tuned to their local habitat, termed phenotype-environment associations. However, although this has been studied in various species, little work has objectively quantified the appearances of camouflaged animals from different habitats, or related this to factors such as ontogeny and individual variation. Here, we tested for phenotype-environment associations in the common shore crab (Carcinus maenas), a species highly variable in appearance and found in a wide range of habitats. We used field surveys and digital image analysis of the colors and patterns of crabs found in four locations around Cornwall in the UK to quantify how individuals vary with habitat (predominantly rockpool, mussel bed, and mudflat). We find that individuals from sites comprising different backgrounds show substantial differences in several aspects of color and pattern, and that this is also dependent on life stage (adult or juvenile). Furthermore, the level of individual variation is dependent on site and life stage, with juvenile crabs often more variable than adults, and individuals from more homogenous habitats less diverse. Ours is the most comprehensive study to date exploring phenotype-environment associations for camouflage and individual variation in a species, and we discuss the implications of our results in terms of the mechanisms and selection pressures that may drive this.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.