ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2021
The evolution of patterning during movement in a large-scale citizen science game.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Article
- Perceiving zebra rump stripes "through the eyes of" their predators: A study with human observers.Perception · 2026Article
- The flashy escape: support for dynamic flash coloration as anti-predator defence.Biology letters · 2024Article
- Adapting genetic algorithms for artificial evolution of visual patterns under selection from wild predators.PloS one · 2024Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
The motion dazzle hypothesis posits that high contrast geometric patterns can cause difficulties in tracking a moving target and has been argued to explain the patterning of animals such as zebras. Research to date has only tested a small number of patterns, offering equivocal support for the hypothesis. Here, we take a genetic programming approach to allow patterns to evolve based on their fitness (time taken to capture) and thus find the optimal strategy for providing protection when moving. Our 'Dazzle Bug' citizen science game tested over 1.5 million targets in a touch screen game at a popular visitor attraction. Surprisingly, we found that targets lost pattern elements during evolution and became closely background matching. Modelling results suggested that targets with lower motion energy were harder to catch. Our results indicate that low contrast, featureless targets offer the greatest protection against capture when in motion, challenging the motion dazzle hypothesis.
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Registered trials
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