Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27493775›Full record

ArticleRoyal Society open science2016

Contrast, contours and the confusion effect in dazzle camouflage.

Benedict G Hogan, Nicholas E Scott-Samuel, Innes C Cuthill

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Royal Society open science, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed
27.2field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 47 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Dynamic colour change in zebrafish (Royal Society open science · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. How camouflage works.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2017
    Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Dazzled by shine: gloss as an antipredator strategy in fast moving prey.Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology
    Article
  14. Camouflaging moving objects: crypsis and masquerade.Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology
    Article
  15. Prey movement, size, and glossiness interact to impact praying mantid attack behaviors.Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Benedict G HoganSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK; School of Experimental Psychology, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-6762-7738
Nicholas E Scott-SamuelSchool of Experimental Psychology , University of Bristol , Bristol , UK.
Innes C CuthillSchool of Biological Sciences , University of Bristol , Bristol , UK.
University of Bristol · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

'Motion dazzle camouflage' is the name for the putative effects of highly conspicuous, often repetitive or complex, patterns on parameters important in prey capture, such as the perception of speed, direction and identity. Research into motion dazzle camouflage is increasing our understanding of the interactions between visual tracking, the confusion effect and defensive coloration. However, there is a paucity of research into the effects of contrast on motion dazzle camouflage: is maximal contrast a prerequisite for effectiveness? If not, this has important implications for our recognition of the phenotype and understanding of the function and mechanisms of potential motion dazzle camouflage patterns. Here we tested human participants' ability to track one moving target among many identical distractors with surface patterns designed to test the influence of these factors. In line with previous evidence, we found that targets with stripes parallel to the object direction of motion were hardest to track. However, reduction in contrast did not significantly influence this result. This finding may bring into question the utility of current definitions of motion dazzle camouflage, and means that some animal patterns, such as aposematic or mimetic stripes, may have previously unrecognized multiple functions.

Indexed as

confusion effectdazzle camouflagedefensive colorationtarget tracking

Identifiers

PMID27493775
PMCPMC4968467
OpenAlexW2461168964

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.