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The Art of Deception Mike Bigley.13 Thursday 5:20 p.m. Evolution is all about survival. Some species rely on speed to evade predators, others use strength. What I am more interested in is how animals use deception. My goal is to discover how and why this evolution took place. There are many different ways that animals use deception to evade predation. A few examples of deception used by animals include: motion daze, bold contrasting colors, biochemical responses in skin, backpack usage, mimicry, and crypsis. Deception has evolved over thousands of generations in the animal kingdom, yet humans use these techniques in environments where war is a dominant factor on their survival. Evaluating why humans use some of these techniques may help further understand why they evolved in the natural world. Zebras have some pretty cool stripes, but thinking about them from a predation stand point it is logical to come to the conclusion that white and black colors in a grassy region is a terrible choice to blend in. You would be correct to assume that because the white and black colors in the stripes create what is called motion daze in their predators[1]. The colors oriented the way they are create a sort of optical illusion when said animal is running and it is proven that this causes their predators to misjudge their distances and leads to a failed attack attempt sometimes[1]. Thinking about this from an evolutionary standpoint it makes sense. Zebras are massive animals. There is no reason for zebras to try to blend into their environment when they usually are part of bigger herds which are easily visible to predators. One of their predators, the lion, is much faster than the zebra; however, zebras using their agility and motion daze stand a decent chance of eluding them. This is why most lions have to hunt in packs to kill zebras. Some warships and bigger vehicles have been painted with similar patterns in hopes to misguide distances on them as well. Motion daze is not always about just color patterns through animals. Dragonflies use a kind of motion daze when moving in the air. Their aerial maneuvers make it nearly impossible for predators to depict which way the dragon fly is going to move [3]. If you have ever seen a dragonfly move, you know exactly what this research is talking about. They seamlessly change directions in a flash without warning to the naked eye. This behavior has been evolved to help avoid predation. Motion daze is a useful deception technique when moving; however, bold contrasting colors can be useful when moving or when stationary. Pepper moths evolved their colors to match their environment after the industrial revolution. As it turns out, matching colors to the environment is not as effective of a strategy as are bold and contrasting colors[2]. It turns out that bold and contrasting colors play tricks with predator’s eyes to the point that they cannot clearly outline their prey and thus sometimes even fail to recognize them as such. Tons of human made war outfits use this deception. Their outfit designs are a huge technological advancement that helps them avoid enemy detection. Bold and contrasting colors are pretty deceptive but it doesn’t hold as much evolutionary advancement as biochemical responses in some cephalopods. In a study it was seen that one cephalopod was able to change the dynamics of its skins 1,000 times over seven hours of observation! The skin of the cephalopod is usually flat and smooth but when needed the animal can change this to match a surrounding, such as a rock, it can alter its skin to a three dimensional shape [4]. While it’s able to alter its shape it is also able to change the colors of the skin using biochemical effects on reflection proteins[5]. These species can change their body image in vast ways very quickly to avoid predation. This can also be used to help them stalk their prey. It is clear as to why this system is advantageous; but, further research is being done to evaluate exactly how it works and how it evolved. Some animals are blessed with complex biochemical responses to alter their skin; however, some animals need to learn tricks to trick predators. Some nymphals have been observed as carrying backpacks which they use to deceive predators[6]. These nymphals carry around objects commonly found in their environment to blend in and hide under. These objects typically serve two purposes: camouflage and last resort deception. Predators that spot the nymphals will attack and the nymphals will discard the backpack in the attack and try to flee[6]. In the confusion sometimes the prey escapes to live another day. This is a learned behavior that is passed on through generations. Backpack carrying nymphals are awesome but sometimes the prey takes a different approach to deceiving its predators. Sometimes prey turn out to look just like their predators n what is known as mimicry. In one studied case moths have turned their colors to look just like the spiders who hunt them [7]. When viewed from above the moths look very similar to their predators; which then, fool spiders into leaving them alone. The more alike the moth looks to the spider, the better the chances for survival. The CIA is known to try to do this same technique to infiltrate other countries intelligences to gain a strategic advantage and sabotage. Mimicry can be used to evade predation; however, crypsis may be the ultimate camouflage. Crypsis is when an organism is partially see through. Jellyfish are a huge example of cypsism in nature. Their internal organs are made up of so much water that you can literally see right through them. Some species have more crypsis than others and this determines the behaviors of the organisms. Organisms that are more see through can be closer to the surface of the water; whereas less see through organisms stay deeper on average to avoid predation[8]. The percentage of translucency can affect when the organisms hunt for food and their strategies vary as well [8]. Deception has evolved in many ways in many organisms. Sometimes it is advantageous to look like a leaf, but only if your species mainly sits still during the daytime hours. Many camouflages only work only when individuals stay still. More advanced forms of deception were needed to avoid predation in multiple species in the animal kingdom. Some of the animals use motion daze techniques to deceive predator’s eyes, while others can completely change their skin complexion in a heartbeat in order to trick eyes to making them look like rocks such as cephalopods do. Evolution of deception is a lot more complex than you think. From passing on learned behaviors such as aerial maneuvers, and wing shapes in genes needed to make them, in dragon flies to passing on genes to mimic a predator; evolution clearly depicts mother nature as a master of disguises. Humans have been using these techniques, mainly in war time environments where selection is against those who stand out, to survive. The evolution of much of the military’s designs come directly from clever humans needs to deceive an enemy to gain a distinct advantage. Being deceptive and using your brain to outwit others is a distinct evolutionary trait that takes many forms.

References [1]Stevens, M; Searel, WTL; Seymour, JE; Marshall, KLA; Ruxton, GD (25 November 2011) www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7007/9/81/abstract. Accessed October 14, 2014. [2]Cuthill I.C, Stevens M, Sheppard J, Maddocks T, Parraga CA, Troscianko T.S. Disruptive coloration and background pattern matching. 2005. www.nature.com/nature/journal/v434/n7029/full/nature03312.html Accessed October 14, 2014. [3]Mizutami, A, Chehl, J.S. & Srinivasan, M.V:Motion in camouflage in dragonflies. www.nature.com/nature/journal/v423/n6940/full/423604a.html. Accessed October 14, 2014. [4]Justine J. Allen, Georger R.R. Bell, Alen M. Kezirian, and Roger T. Hanlon. 2013. Onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jmor.2021/abstract. Accessed October 18, 2014. [5] Izumi, M., Sweeney, A.M., DeMartini, D., Weaver, J. C., Powers, M.L., Tao, A., Silvas, T.V., Kramer, R.M., Crookes-Goodson, W.J., Mäthger, L.M., Naik, R.R., Hanlon, R.T., & Morse, D.E., 2010. http://hermes.mbl.edu/mrc/hanlon/pdfs/Izumi%20et%20al%20ReflectinPhosphorylation%20JRoySocInterface%202010.pdf. Accessed October 18, 2014. [6] Miriam Brandit, Dieter Mahsberg; Bugs With a Backpack: The Function of Nympal Camouflage in the West African Assassin Bugs Paredota and Acanthaspis spp. 2002. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347201919104. October 20, 2014. [7] Mo Costandi; The Moth in Spiders Clothing. 2006. http://neurophilosophy.wordpress.com/2006/12/22/the-moth-in-spiders-clothing/. Accessed October 22, 2014. [8]Lucelia Carvalho; Jansen Zuanon; Ivan Sazima; The Almost Invisible League: Crypsis and Association Between Minute Fishes and Shrimps as a Possible Defence Against Visually Hunting Predators. 2006. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S1679-62252006000200008&script=sci_arttext. Accessed October 28, 2014.