Ecology: Camouflage

• Camouflage, also called cryptic coloration, is a

defense mechanism or tactic that organisms
use to disguise their appearance, usually to
blend in with their surroundings.
• Organisms use camouflage to mask their
location, identity, and movement.
• This allows prey to avoid predators, and for
predators to sneak up on prey.
• The camouflage of a species depends on
several factors. The physical characteristics of
the organism are important. Animals with fur rely on different camouflage strategies than animals
with feathers or scales, for example. Animals with fur are more often camouflaged by the season. The
arctic fox, for example, has white fur in winter, while its summer fur is brown.
• The behavior of a species is also important. Animals that live in groups are different from those that
live individually. The stripes of a zebra, for example, make it distinctive. However, zebras are social
animals, which means they live and migrate in large groups called herds. When they live in groups, it
is nearly impossible to tell one zebra from another, making it difficult for predators such as lions to
stalk an individual animal.
• The camouflage of a species is also influenced by the behavior or characteristics of its predators. For
example, if the predator is colorblind, the prey species does not have to adapt to the color of its
environment. Lions, the main predator of zebras, are colorblind. The black and white camouflage of
zebras does not have to adapt to their habitat, the golden savannah of central Africa.

Environmental and behavioral factors cause species to employ a wide variety of camouflage tactics:

• Through mimesis, animals and plants imitate their habitat - for example, the substrate, stones,
flowers, leaves, branches or feces. With this camouflage coloration and camouflage shape, they
become virtually "invisible" to their predators.
➢ So Mimesis is a form of camouflage in which an organism visually resembles the appearance of its
environment.
• In mimesis, one can distinguish between three types:
➢ Allomimesis refers to mimesis in which a living thing looks like an inanimate object. For example,
some plants in the African desert resemble stones. They are therefore often called "living stones".
This protective costume keeps them undetected by predators.
➢ Phytomimesis describes when animals look like plants for camouflage. The stick insect looks
confusingly similar to small branches. Their bodies and limbs are composed of brown, thin, long
sticks.
➢ Zoomimesis is when animals take on the shape of other animals. This allows these creatures to
blend in undetected with the other species. For example, ant nests often contain animals that
only look like ants - so-called ant crickets.
• Mimicry describes when animals or plants imitate the appearance, sounds, or smell of other animals
or plants. The animals and plants thus resemble each other visually, auditorily or olfactorily, but are
not related to each other.
• In this context, the imitating creature is called an imitator or mimic. The imitated animal or plant is
the model. The living being that is to be deceived is the signal receiver. The signal is the appearance,
smell, or sound that the mimic imitates.
• Depending on the goal of the creature, two kinds of mimicry can be distinguished:
➢ Protective mimicry: creatures imitate more dangerous animals in order to be mistaken for the
dangerous animal itself. Dangerous animals and plants often have a conspicuous warning color - a
 so-called warning costume (example: the harmless hoverfly looks like the stinging bees and
wasps; it is often called a fake wasp for this reason).
➢ Attract mimicry: The animals or plants imitate creatures that are particularly attractive to their
prey / pollinators. This is how they attract their prey / pollinators (example: the flower of the
ragwort looks and smells like an insect. This attracts the male insects to the flower, which they
pollinate in this way).
o Countershading is a form of camouflage in which the top of an animal’s body is darker in
color, while its underside is lighter. Sharks use countershading. When seen from above,
they blend in with the darker ocean water below. This makes it difficult for fishermen—
and swimmers—to see them. When seen from below, they blend in with lighter surface
water. This helps them hunt because prey species below may not see a shark until it’s too
late.
• So that the other creatures can be particularly well deceived, the mimics often adapt their behavior,
habitat and rhythm of life to their role model.
• Molecular mimicry refers to pathogens that resemble the body's own cells. In this way, they pretend
to belong to the body. This prevents the immune system from reacting. If the immune system reacts
anyway, it also damages the body's own tissue. You can also call this reaction a cross-reaction. It is
often used as a possible cause for diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS) or stomach ulcers.