Camouflage

Camouflage:

It has infiltrated our human society for years, we have learned to use it for our advantage. The military use it, hunters use it, those who just want to blend in know how to use it; camouflage, when you don't want anyone to see you, you put on clothes that make you look similar to your background. Young people do it sometimes when they don't want to stick out, they all dress in the same mainstream fashion clothes, looking exactly the same, afraid someone will look at them with lifted eyebrows. Hunters want to get as close to there prey as possible, so they can secure next weeks dinner(or just brag about it), therefor they put on clothes with same colors as the forest they walk in. And the army wears clothes with pretty much the same purpose, only difference is they hunt people they obviously are not to fond off(not part of the discussion here). The thing is, this is not something our super human brain have worked out as a brilliant idea to either surprise someone or disappear. This is natures idea, and nature have perfected it for thousands of years. Some animals are so good at disguise themselves, you won't see them until you touch them or step on them.

So why is this a common thing in nature?

To answer that you have to realize what risk and pressure all animals live under. Every day is a fight to survive. Nature contain a lot of species who live togheter in a web of connections, where they fight over resources and mates, and almost all living animals find themselves in a position where someone wants to eat them. They will have to try to find a way to escape, fight of predators or not be spotted. Not being spotted is where the camouflage comes in. Coloration is essential if you would like to mix in with the background, and natural selection has rewarded those animals that during time have been successful with this. An animal with green color (like a grasshopper) is less likely to be spotted in grass habitats compared to a red one. This means the red one is more likely to get eaten, which of course is not very pleasant for that insect, and begging on it's knees is not as efficient as it is in our human world, which means adios amigo and no offspring who can carry its genes on to next generation. The green grasshopper on the other hand, might be able to survive another day or two, and have some lucky offspring.

This leads to the fact that any coloration or pattern that makes you less visible, is an advantage for you and your survival, and often if someone gets a mutation or a set of genes that might improve this coloration, this will be selected for. Changing environments create a pressure on all organism to improve all the time, so they can be a step ahead of everyone else. You also find this among predatores. Predatores need to catch a prey to survive, and the predators with best tactics, speed or other solutions are those who are able to produce offspring. Some predators have developed a tactic where they look like their background, so prey don't notice them. This way they can attack by surprise, either by walking up to they prey, or by waiting patiently in their prey's walking path and attack when they prey is within range.The better camouflage they posses, the more prey they catch. It's an evolutionary race to survive, where everyone would have to improve all the time to survive. Competition, predators and habitats change all the time, which means they can never rest, evolving is inevitable.

We humans think we are smart and good with camouflage; well lock at this guys and see how real professionals do it: If you can spot them at all:)

Here is a gecko on a tree.

Picture link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/gallery/animal-camouflage/#/gecko-camouflaged-on-tree-bark-4_24666_600x450.jpg

These guys looks much like the branch they are sitting on. Picture from: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/photos/gallery/animal-camouflage/#/tawn-frogmouths-myall-tree-3_24669_600x450.jpg

To see this spider you need to get really close and pay attention. Picture from; http://www.instantshift.com/2013/02/26/50-perfect-animal-camouflage-photography/

Bibliography:

Breed, MD & Moore, J 2011, Animal Behaviour, Elsevier Science Publishing Co Inc, San Diego, United States.